Country Music Capital News - April 2018 Volume 43 No 3 by Country Music Capital News

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APRIL 2018 VOL. 43 NO.3

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KACEY MUSGRAVE HER GOLDEN HOUR

BROTHERS OSBORNE

BREAKING THE RULES years of bringing you the music 1975â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2018

JODIE CROSBY LOVE HURTS

ANDREW SWIFT

A SWIFT TALE

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SO NY M U S IC . C O M . AU years of bringing you the music 1975â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2018

/ H OTTE S TS TA R S ON TH E P L A N E T C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

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“

Brad impressed me the ﬁrst time I saw him

perform in Tamworth this year. He has a great voice and is writing good songs. I think he is the real deal

”

and I look forward to watching him develop.

STEVE WHITE Manager – Lee Kernaghan, The Wolfe Brothers

DEBUT SELF-TITLED ALBUM BRAD COX OUT MAY 4 PRE-ORDER NOW THROUGH ITUNES LAKE HOUSE THE BEAUTIFUL NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO OUT NOW

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

ORGAN ISED BY

HAIR DESIGN & MAKE UP

e: starmaker.com.au | w: starmaker.com.au | bradcoxofficial.com.au |

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bradcoxofficial.com.au

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FROM THE EDITOR

INSIDE THE APRIL ISSUE FROM TIME TO TIME, ARTISTS ARRIVE ON THE SCENE THAT HAVE THE SAME FIRST OR LAST NAME, WHICH IN SAME CASES CAUSES CONFUSION TO THE UNINITIATED.

or example, Adam (Brand/Eckersley/Harvey), Amber (Lawrence/Poulton), Travis (Collins/ List/Sinclair) – you get the idea. In this issue we put three Kaceys/Kaseys/ Caseys in front of you which should make for easy identification. Our cover story is Kacey Musgraves, who has released her album Golden Hour, her third to follow the 2013 gold-certified debut album Same Trailer Different Park and 2015 Pageant Material which was #3 on the Billboard 200 chart. We pay tribute to Kasey Chambers who is the youngest person to have been elevated to the Roll Of Renown – the highest accolade in the Australian country music industry. Casey Barnes appeared to have come out of

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nowhere and this year successfully became a finalist in the Golden Guitars. Read the first diary from 2018 Toyota Star Maker winner Brad Cox and in our One To Watch series meet Star Maker grand finalist Taylor Pfeiffer who has transitioned from the ‘Banjo Girl’, that served her well, into the confident artist she is now; and take a peak into the Weeping Willows’ wedding day. Congratulations to Dan Biddle on his appointment to

chairman of the CMAA Board. Dan lives and breathes the music industry, (he’s awesome on a trivia team) and as manager of The McClymonts, Graeme Connors, Adam Eckersley & Brooke McClymont and Fanny Lumsden, he is already leading with passion and confidence. I’m certain that this, together with his enthusiasm and the respect he has within the industry, will be the fuel to take the CMAA into the next decade. With so many festivals coming up we’re sure to bump into each other soon. Cheryl Byrnes Cheryl@tamworthcountrymusic.com.au

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A P R I L FEATURES KACEY MUSGRAVE BROTHERS OSBORNE KASEY CHAMBERS ANDREW SWIFT JODIE CROSBY CASEY BARNES ANDY TOOMBS SHARON HEASLIP GEORGE STRAIT CHARLIE LANDSBOROUGH CMC AWARDS WILLOWS WEDDING EDITOR Cheryl Byrnes P: 0407 106 966 E: cheryl@tamworthcountrymusic.com.au ADVERTISING Joanne Maiden P: 0429 784 860 E: joanne@tamworthcountrymusic.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS Linda Bridges P: 02 6767 5555 CONTRIBUTORS Allan Caswell, Anna Rose, Bec Belt, Bob Kirchner, David Dawson, Jon Wolfe, Lorraine Pfitzner, Peter Coad, Susan Jarvis, Tom Inglis, and our great mates in publicity and record companies nationally and internationally. PHOTOGRAPHERS Andrew Wilson, Paul Broben, Marc Grimwade, Greg Sylvia, Antony Hands, Lisa Maree Williams, Robyn McIntosh, and other photographers who supplied unknown to us. TRC TEAM Jess Barnden, Karlee Cole, Eleanor Turnbull, Hayden Pannell. ART AND DESIGN Sam Woods

FIRST THE SONG

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REGULARS NEWS NASHVILLE NEWS TOYOTA STAR MAKER UPDATE ONE TO WATCH – TAYLOR PFIEFFER HEAR & THERE FESTIVALS SOUND ADVICE COUNTRY CHARTS BUSH BALLADS DOWN MEMORY LANE WRITING GREAT SONGS

PUBLISHER Tamworth Regional Council 437 Peel Street, Tamworth NSW 2340 P: 02 6767 5555

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Country Music Capital News is compiled and published monthly by Tamworth Regional Council, 437 Peel Street, Tamworth NSW 2340. The views and opinions expressed in Capital News are not necessarily those of the publisher. Copyright 2017 Tamworth Regional Council, ABN 52631074450. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part by any manner or method whatsoever without the written permission is prohibited. All statements made in advertising are the sole responsibility of the advertiser in respect of legal and industrial relations. Printed by Fairfax Printing, 159 Bells Line of Road, North Richmond. 2754. ISSN 1440-995X years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

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NEWS

WOMEN IN MUSIC AWARDS

he inaugural Australian Women in Music Awards were announced at the Brisbane Powerhouse on March 6 and backed by artists Tina Arena, Deborah Conway and Kate Ceberano. Organised by Vicki Gordon, a Maori woman who began her music industry career in Brisbane, the awards will form a part of an extensive two-day industry forum to promote gender and cultural equity in the music industry. Vicki has worked as a musician, festival director and producer and executive director of independent record label Transistor Music. She is one of only two women to have been voted on to the board of the Australian Recording Industry Association in their own right, and there has not been a female member of ARIA’s five-person board since she resigned in 2002. The awards will be held at the Brisbane Powerhouse on October 9 and 10, 2018 and will include a Roll of Renown, and tributes to Chrissy Amphlett and Ruby Hunter. Find more information at www. womeninmusicawards.com.au

NEW REGIME AT CMAA THE COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA (CMAA) HAS ELECTED A NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM.

Dan Biddle

oard members met last month and elected artist manager Dan Biddle as chairman taking over from Dobe Newton who will remain as association president. Newly elected board member Natalie Waller, head of ABC Music

GET WELL KENNY

Kenny Kitching 8

egendary Australian steel guitar player Kenny Kitching spent some time in hospital last month under critical care. His wife, popular television star of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Emma Hannah, said that he was in good spirits and looking forward to getting back to playing music. C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

& Events, is the new CMAA vice chairman. Roger Corbett, who has been vice chairman for some time now, remains in the position of Academy of Country Music general manager and will “expand his focus on the growth of the academy”. Meryl Davis continues in the role of secretary and Ross Johnson as treasurer, “rounding out an executive team which is focused on increasing the profile of Australian and New Zealand country music of all genres globally,” according to a statement from the association. Dan, who has 20 years experience working within record labels and music management, said: “It is an honour to be entrusted with the role of chairman for the CMAA, an organisation that has worked to further the interests of Australasian country music for over 25 years. “I want to thank Dobe and Roger for their hard work and dedication to the members of the CMAA over the last seven years and for steering the organisation towards a great era of confidence within the membership and stability within the industry.” Non office-bearer board members are recording artist Lachlan Bryan, HSF Artist Services Manager Tom Inglis, journalist/publicist Rebecca Belt, and KIX Country Radio Program/Content Director Justin Thomson.

SYDNEY NIGHTLIFE

he City of Sydney is seeking people who work within the local nightlife and creative sector to join The Nightlife and Creative Sector Advisory Panel, an expert group who will give the city advice on how best to enrich and support the city after dark. The panel will advise on how to boost Sydney’s night time economy (hospitality, retail, live music and performance, business, urban planning, public safety and property development), identify emerging obstacles and opportunities and outline ways to increase the city’s engagement with their creative nightlife community. The panel will be similar to models already used in Amsterdam, Berlin, London and New York. years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

PHOTO: LACHLAN DOUGLAS

NASHVILLE NEWS

David Briley

NEW NASHVILLE MAYOR Pictured L-R: RGK Entertainment’s Ron Kitchener, Uncommon Cord’s Matthew Lazarus-Hall, Dean Brody, CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern and AEG Presents’ Milly Olykan.

CMA INTERNATIONAL AWARDS THE COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION PRESENTED INTERNATIONAL AWARDS LAST MONTH DURING C2C: COUNTRY TO COUNTRY FESTIVAL IN LONDON AS WELL AS CMC ROCKS QLD FESTIVAL IN AUSTRALIA.

ward recipients included Canadian singer-songwriter Dean Brody (Jeff Walker Global Country Artist Award), BBC Radio 2’s Mark Hagen (Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award), six-time reigning CMA Awards Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town (International Artist Achievement

Award), Spotify’s John Marks and AEG Presents’ Milly Olykan both received the Jo WalkerMeador International Award and Chris Country’s Chris Stevens (International Country Broadcaster Award).

avid Briley has been elected the new Mayor of Nashville, following the resignation of Megan Barry over the extramarital affair between her and her former bodyguard. David has been active in politics for two decades and has family ties to the founding of metro government itself, as the grandson of Beverly Briley, the first mayor of Metro Nashville. He is a lawyer, known for his progressive politics and his straightforward approach to governing and he has built a reputation as a good listener. Council members describe him as a man of integrity and an inclusive leader. The 54-year-old lives in Salemtown with his wife and their teenage son. He’s a Nashville native and has a long history with the city running for mayor in 2007. Briley will hold to position of mayor until August.

53RD ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC

hris Stapleton leads the charge with eight nominations for the 53rd Annual ACM Awards, to be held on April 15 in Las Vegas. Reba McEntire returns for her fifteenth time as host of the event which will be held in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Thomas Rhett has six, and Keith Urban and songwriter Shane McAnally each have five, Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris each have four, with Sam Hunt, Little Big Town and Midland receiving three. The full list can be found at acmcountry.com/news years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

Chris Stapleton

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KACEY CELEBRATES

GOLDEN HOUR BY DAVID DAWSON

I USED TO GET SAD AND LONELY WHEN THE SUN WENT DOWN IT’S DIFFERENT NOW BECAUSE I LOVE THE LIGHT THAT I’VE FOUND IN YOU BABY DON’T YOU KNOW THAT YOU’RE MY GOLDEN HOUR THE COLOUR OF MY SKY YOU’VE SET MY WORLD ON FIRE, YEAH, YEAH AND I KNOW, I KNOW EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE ALRIGHT.” GOLDEN HOUR – KACEY MUSGRAVES/SHANE MCANALLY.

hen Texan troubadour and dual Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves had her underwear and expensive Lucchese cowboy boots stolen earlier in her career in Nashville she wrote Five Finger Discount about the robberies. But, now it’s the welcome theft of her heart by fellow Texan singing spouse Ruston Kelly that has inspired much of her seventh album Golden Hour. Golden Hour – her fourth major label album release – features several songs inspired by Kelly including the title track and Butterflies. Musgraves married Kelly on October 14, 2017, and credits him for her marital mood upswing in many new songs. “Butterflies was the first song that I wrote after meeting Ruston,” Kacey revealed from

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Mexico as she promoted Golden Hour on the eve of a possible second Australian tour. “I met him right around the time that I started to be creative again and that just naturally influenced me. I was like, I wonder if I’m gonna be able to write, because I’m happy now. I experienced a major life shift around the same time I got off the road and started writing again. Songs just started pouring out. I wondered if when I found happiness. I would lose things to write about but I actually found it quite the opposite. I was very inspired to explore not only the feelings I was going through but also feelings about this beautiful world, reincarnation, and the other relationships around me.” Musgraves named her album after her hometown Golden (population 200) about 75 miles east of Dallas and due north of where Kelly and her mentor Willie Nelson were born in East Texas. Kacey and Ruston, both 29, also recorded To June, This Morning – a song based on a poem the late Johnny Cash penned for wife June Carter Cash – on another new album Forever Words produced by John Carter Cash. “Ruston and I recorded that at the beginning of this year,” Kacey recalled.

“I’m very excited for people to hear it.” Kacey blazed a creative trail on recent albums with provocative social comment tunes diverse as Follow Your Arrow, Merry Go Round, Blow Your Own Smoke, This Town, Biscuits and Good Ol Boys Club. She won Grammys for best country song Merry Go Round and country album for her 2013 release Same Trailer Different Park. This time Musgraves tills her golden family history song sources - she wrote Mother about missing her maternal creator while on tour. “Yes. I was tapped into the sadness, feeling the weight of the social and political climate, nostalgia for the past and missing my family when she texted me and it inspired this song.” She also sang another new song Rainbow at the 2013 funeral of her grandmother who was Kacey’s first booking agent-roadie-chauffeur when she was a child singer. “My grandmother’s name was Barbara Taylor,” Kacey remembered fondly of her mentor who had a vocal cameo on This Town on her 2015 album Pageant Material. “She passed several years ago very unexpectedly. She was too young to go. This was one of her favourite songs I’ve ever written so we played it at her funeral. I’d always wanted the song to live on a project but none seemed to be the right home until now. It was written as a note to myself but also to anyone with any kind of a weight on their shoulders. We decided it best to keep this song a very

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organic and raw moment on the album. I sat by the piano and sang it live. I feel like it’s a good balance against the more produced sides of the album.” Kacey produced her album with fellow singersongwriters Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian at Sheryl Crow’s home studio above her stables on her 50 acre farm near Nashville. “Sheryl is a friend of ours and she was very gracious to let us come make a creative home at her personal studio which also happens to be a beautiful horse stable with Guinness on tap,” Kacey explained as Sheryl and Melissa Etheridge enjoy an Australian tour. “We wanted to avoid the rat race and commercial industry feel of typical Nashville studios. I’m so happy we

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did. We really got to take our tome. I couldn’t have experienced feeling more Zen physically and mentally while making an album. We ended up talking about reincarnation one night and getting so heady. I was like, ‘this is amazing!’ It set the tone.” Kacey’s karma expanded by recording during the summer solar eclipse. “Throughout the making of this album if felt as if the universe was majestically telling me to be

present and be a witness to the beauty that surrounds us that we easily forget about,” Kacey added. “The total solar eclipse happening on my 29th birthday, as we were completely engrossed in making the album, was one of a kind.” Kacey rides in a punchy posse with fellow Texans Miranda Lambert and Ashley Monroe and peers Margo Price and Ashley McBryde who broaden their appeal by appearances on nocturnal TV variety shows and creative videos. “I’m just as visual of a person as I am lyrically,” Kacey explained.

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“I ALMOST INSTANTLY SEE SONGS IN MUSIC VIDEO FORM WHEN WRITING THEM. AS WE SPEAK I’M ACTUALLY HEADING UP A MOUNTAIN IN MEXICO CITY TO SHOOT TWO MUSIC VIDEOS! IT’S SOMETHING I HAVE FUN WITH.

“I almost instantly see songs in music video form when writing them. As we speak I’m actually heading up a mountain in Mexico City to shoot two music videos! It’s something I have fun with. “Being obscure doesn’t always mean you’re credible. Now that I have the right foundation personally and feel more grounded than ever, I feel comfortable pushing past where I’ve been and bringing my brand of country music to the world.” But new song Velvet Elvis was not inspired by Kentuckian Billy Ray Cyrus who made his second Australian tour in March. “I have a velvet Elvis painting from the ‘50s hanging in the house and one day I looked at it and thought it would

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make a good song title. Likening it to a real person.” She also expanded on other new songs. “Slow Burn is one of my most personal and introspective songs yet. It’s a clear representation of my mentality at this stage in my life. Being OK with things taking time to come to fruition because it’s not a race. I wanna be doing what I love for a long time.” “Lonely Weekend was inspired by the feeling you get when

you’ve been on tour and come back home and feel like you have no friends, like everyone naturally is busy and has moved on with their lives and that you find peace with that as you get older and require to be stimulated by less “Wonder Woman, weirdly, had nothing to do with the movie. But they ended up coinciding. I loved the idea of telling your man he doesn’t have to carry the weight of being a Superman for you because you’re not perfect and strong all the time.” Space Cowboy is about letting go. “It’s a look into where I’ve been, and where I am now,” Musgraves said. “I like that it’s very sparse. And it’s just about making peace with a door closing in your life. I feel like everyone can relate to that. When you’re just like, ‘I don’t understand this. It hurts right now.’ But it allows something better to come in.” Kacey also recruited Willie Nelson, 85 on April 29, for Willie Nice Christmas on her Very Kacey Christmas album after recording his 1965 song Are You Sure as a duet hidden track on her 2015 album Pageant. Pageant featured Dime Store Cowgirl in which she name-checks Willie. “Willie has been amazing to work with,” Kacey confessed. “He’s a true sweetheart and so is his family. It’s always an honour to tour or collaborate with him. He’s an icon but he’s down to Earth.” So will we see Kacey return here this year? “I had an amazing time coming to Australia several years ago and I can’t wait to come back,” Kacey added. “I found Aussies and Australia to remind me a lot of Texans and the spirit back home.” Golden Hour, released here by Universal, will add to Musgraves international success and profile by breaking her way beyond the country genre. Kacey credits her producers and collaborators for much of her success. “I worked with different producers and collaborators for this record,” Musgraves explained. “While I love the creative team from the past couple albums, it was imperative for me to explore some different lanes this time around. My friends Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian co-produced and wrote most of the songs with me. I learned so much from them in the process and we had an indescribable amount of fun!”

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BREAKING THE RULES BY LACHLAN BRYAN

DEALE, MARYLAND DOESN’T EXACTLY SOUND LIKE A COUNTRY MUSIC HOT SPOT. AT LEAST NOT TO US AUSTRALIANS – WHO TEND TO ASSOCIATE THE GENRE WITH TENNESSEE, TEXAS, THE CAROLINAS AND KENTUCKY.

ranted, the town (population 4,500) does sit a little south of the famed Mason Dixon line – but it’s hardly Nashville. According to John Osborne, half of country music’s latest American sibling sensation, the geographical preconceptions are not unique to Australians. “Maryland has a great live music scene – a great country music scene”, he explains, “but most Americans don’t realise that. They’re surprised to hear where we came from”. Whilst the origins of the duo may come as a surprise to many, their recent success does not. Both brothers bring enviable musical tools to the table – TJ’s booming baritone voice (reminiscent of mid-career Johnny Cash) and John’s Allman Brothers-inspired guitar chops. While they both played in many other bands, it was always obvious to everyone around them that there was something special going on whenever they performed together. The official formation of the Brothers Osborne as a band took a little while to come about, but when TJ eventually followed John to Nashville, their future as a sibling-led group became somewhat inevitable. It is, as John concedes, “an old school rock approach to making a band…with a great singer and a strong sideman guitar player”. Whilst this approach might be considered ‘old school’ in the rock world, for a modern country band Brothers Osborne are definitely breaking the rules – sitting somewhere between mainstream country and the alt/Americana world. It’s no surprise that their rise has coincided with the Billboard chart success of artists even further left of country music’s centre like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell. “Country music is really broad”, explains John,

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“maybe more now though than ever. But for us, while we grew up with country music, we also loved rock and grunge and that’s really the music of our youth – so we’ve got a lot of that attitude in our music and the way we play”. On new album Port Saint Joe (due for release on April 20), the Brothers Osborne adhered to a very rock and roll tradition by taking their touring band into the studio. It’s an approach that isn’t seen a lot in Nashville – but then again the record was made a little further south. “Yeah most of the big artists make their records in Nashville and use the session players”, says TJ. “And you know those guys are the best players in the world – so there’s a lot of great records get made that way. But for us, we really feel like a band, so it made sense to have the guys that play with us on the road in the studio with us. They’re great players too – but more importantly we feel more like a band with those guys”. The album was made in Florida, at the home studio of producer Jay Joyce (Little Big Town, Eric Church).

“We were staying in a house on the beach for two weeks,” explains TJ, “we would get up each day and have breakfast and literally walk barefoot down to Jay’s studio to start recording. It was an incredible way to make an album – and now I can’t imagine doing it any other way.” The record contains 10 new songs, all co-written by the brothers with various cocollaborators including Lee Thomas Miller, Laura Veltz and Dave Barnes. The sound ranges from country-rock through to outlaw country and boasts an impressive array of drinking songs (including the tongue-in-cheek Weed, Whiskey And Willie). The relaxed nature of the recording sessions is clearly evident in the final product. The band’s visit to Australia for this year’s CMC Rocks Festival was a resounding success and gave both brothers their first Australian experience (despite TJ being a frequent tourist in his wife’s homeland of New Zealand). It came on the back of new single Shoot Me Straight topping the CMC chart and ahead of some extensive US and UK touring, most of it headlining venues significantly larger than they’ve ever played before. “In just a few years we’ve gone from playing small clubs – just big enough for a couple of hundred people – to headlining theatres and even arenas”, said John. “It’s been a great experience and it’s pretty unique to be able to do this with your own brother. Believe it or not, we’ve just always got along well and we’ve never really fallen out – so it’s always fun being on the road with someone you’re so close to”. Upon their return to America, The Brothers Osborne will appear at The 53rd Annual ACM Awards, hosted by Reba McIntyre. The band is nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year and Video of the Year (for single It Ain’t My Fault, from 2016 album Pawn Shop). years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

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KASEY

RECEIVES COUNTRY MUSIC’S HIGHEST HONOUR AT 41 KASEY CHAMBERS MAY BE THE YOUNGEST PERSON TO HAVE BEEN ELEVATED TO THE AUSTRALASIAN COUNTRY MUSIC ROLL OF RENOWN, BUT SHE HAS ALREADY SPENT MOST OF HER LIFE ON STAGE. The Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown was launched when the father of Australian country music, Tex Morton, was honoured in Tamworth in January 1976.

rom the age of 10, Kasey has been behind a microphone in her parents, Bill Chambers and Diane Chambers, Dead Ringer Band. During this year’s 46th presentation of the Country Music Awards of Australia held in Tamworth, Kasey became the 51st person to be honoured with the industry’s most prestigious award. In making the presentation, last year’s winner, Troy Cassar-Daley, said that Kasey had earned the admiration and respect of both her industry peers and her multitude of fans, all over the world. Time and time again, Troy said, she has demonstrated her extraordinary ability to connect with country and mainstream audiences in both Australia and overseas. In accepting the award, Kasey paid a special tribute to her parents Bill and Diane and to brother Nash, her long-time record producer. “I definitely wouldn’t have got to first-base without my family and their involvement,” she acknowledged. Kasey was born in Mount Gambier on June 4, 1976. She grew up on the Nullarbor sharing the music that infused her family. Her first solo album, The Captain, released in 1999, was a national sensation, hailed as fresh inspiration for Australian country music. With Nash producing, Kasey has released a string of highly awarded recordings including some with other artists, all featuring her distinctive vocals, powerful lyrics and unique contemporary approach. Highly celebrated in Australia, she has also gathered a large following in USA.

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During this year’s awards, Kasey’s album Dragonfly won a Golden Guitar for Alt Country Album of the Year, adding to her current tally of 26 (14 individual and 12 shared Golden Guitars). Dragonfly received the ARIA Award for best country album in November 2017. The Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown was launched when the father of Australian country music, Tex Morton, was honoured in Tamworth in January 1976. The roll itself comprises large bronze plaques mounted on a cluster of giant granite boulders in front of the Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre. During the year thousands of tourists come to pay homage to their country music heroes who include revered icons like Slim Dusty, Buddy Williams, Joy and Heather McKean, Phil Emmanuel and Tommy Emmanuel, and Jimmy Little.

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A SWIFT

TALE BY SUSAN JARVIS

WHEN ANDREW SWIFT WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, A WELL-MEANING TEACHER TOLD HIM HE’D NEVER BE A LEAD SINGER.

ndrew said “And for a long time, I believed it – I did backing vocals and didn’t even consider putting myself out there.” With the release of Andrew’s extraordinary new album, Call Out For The Cavalry, that teacher is undoubtedly doing a serious faceplant and eating his words. Because this album reinforces the view of many in the industry that Andrew Swift is the hottest new talent to emerge on to the Australian country music scene for a very long time. Andrew’s debut country album at the age of 34 is the result of a love story. “I went to Tamworth for the first time in 2014 to perform at a showcase of Melbourne artists, but really didn’t scratch the surface and went home thinking it just wasn’t for me,” Andrew said. “But the following year I went back, and entered Star Maker, and it was a very different story. “Star Maker was amazing – the response I got from that performance was just incredible. I was also cohosting a show and got to meet a lot of artists. I realised that everyone knew each other, and they were all really supportive of each other’s music. “Gretta Ziller and Jen Mize took me under their wing and showed me around – they took me to see all the artists they knew I’d love. “I just fell totally in love with the people and the music. I knew it was where I belonged, and I was hooked.” Call Out For The Cavalry isn’t exactly Andrew’s first

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album – he recorded an album in El Paso, Texas called The Way We Were Raised. “I guess it was a step towards where I am now. But I really view Call Out For The Cavalry as my first career album,” Andrew said. And it’s a career that is already blossoming. The album debuted in the #1 spot on the iTunes Country Chart on its release, and came in at #3 on the ARIA Country Albums chart, #12 on the ARIA Albums chart and #13 on the Digital Music chart. “I’d set myself a goal to come in somewhere in the top 20 on the ARIA Country Albums chart, so that just blew me away,” Andrew said. Andrew has already released two singles from the album, both of them world class. Reckless Desires is a song about wanting too much. “It’s about someone who’s had a lot of success but was greedy, and by wanting more ended up losing everything,” Andrew said. “The video’s set in a trailer

“I JUST FELL TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH THE PEOPLE AND THE MUSIC. I KNEW IT WAS WHERE I BELONGED, AND I WAS HOOKED.”

park – which is actually out the back of the caravan dealership where I work in my day job – and it was a lot of fun being trailer trash for a while!” Andrew knows a lot about van parks, as he and close friend Gretta Ziller spent a large part of 2017 performing in them as part of their Till the Wheels Fall Off tour. And he hastens to add that the people he meets in the park are definitely not the people in the video. His latest single, Runaway Train is a tongue-in-cheek look at what he describes as his own relationship history. “I’m constantly being told I have commitment issues – usually by a girl I’ve dated once. There have been a lot of red flags over the years!” he said. Another track on the album, Jezebel was also inspired by some of the women in Andrew’s past, but the song is also a metaphor.

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“It’s just as much about the music industry as it is about my dating history – it can be a bit of a tease, leading you on with exotic promises and then dumping you,” Andrew said. “Mind you, I think those days are over – I would describe myself as being in a very committed relationship with alt country these days!” One of the album’s most powerful tracks is intensely personal. King of the Sky was written as a tribute to Andrew’s uncle, who passed away in a plane crash. “My parents split when I was only six, and my uncle – my Mum’s brother – really stepped in and became like a father to me. We were very close. “He passed away when I was nine, and our whole family was devastated. I still go to the crash site every year.”

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Andrew said his mother, who now lives in California, was really moved when he played her the song. “And my Grandma cries whenever she hears it – it means a lot to her that I wrote it,” Andrew said. Another personal song, Ball & Chain, was actually written by Cathy Dobson. Andrew heard it and knew he had to record it. “I suffered from depression when I was at high school, and this song had a message that I really wanted to convey to people,” he said. The other cover on the album is Gretta Ziller’s Unforgiven Sins, which Andrew loves so much he claims he’s now made the song his own. Amazing country songstress Catherine Britt’s been brought in to duet with Andrew on Fire & Ice. “I’m a huge Catherine Britt fan-boy, and having her sing on this is really special,” Andrew said. Gretta also cowrote Blood Moon High, the first track Andrew penned for this album, after a long songwriting drought. It was a phrase in this song that

inspired the album’s title. Other tracks on this superb album include Georgia, about missing someone, and The Devil and His Sin, a song of regret. Andrew has launched the album in style, with no less than four launches – two in Victoria, one in Tamworth and one in Newcastle. He’s now hitting the road for the rest of the year, performing as many shows as he can to build his fan base and showcase his music. “I’m really proud of this album, and I’ve never felt more at home musically. These days it’s definitely less of a battle and more of a journey – and I know I’m on the right track,” he said.

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LOVE HURTS

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IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT JODIE CROSBY HAS ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE VOICES IN AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY MUSIC – AS THE LEAD SINGER OF THE GOLDEN GUITAR-WINNING DUO THE CROSBY SISTERS, HER VOICE WAS HEARD ACROSS THE NATION.

long with sister Kelly, the duo topped charts throughout the second half of the 1990s and they were seen at all the top festivals across the land, toured with, or supported, top artists like Slim Dusty and international artists Dr Hook, Foster and Allen and Charley Pride. In 2001, Jodie was sidelined after a cancer scare and the duo could only be seen and heard on the rare occasion, particularly at their hometown Tamworth Country Music Festival. True to country music tradition, it took a major lifechanging event seven years ago to bring Jodie back to the recording studio – a relationship breakup that saw her struggling with her feelings and she sought a remedy for her grief in writing songs and eventually recording them. Three years ago, the emotions started turning into songs, and she began the project that has now turned into an incredible debut solo, self-titled album. Spread over two and a half years, the album slowly came together under the guidance of co-producer Rusty Crook, best known as a hot guitarist for many performers and especially The Sunny Cowgirls. The first song on the album, Hello, released in 2017, was a song co-written with her son Ethan Crosby-Wolfe.

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“It can be tough on a child when they see their mother going through the heartache of a relationship breakup, but in Ethan’s case his astute observations and his deep understanding of what I was going through resulted in the song,” Jodie said. “He was there with an understanding attitude beyond his teenage experience – he was 18 at the time – and captured the feelings and the hurt I was going through.” The song topped charts here and in Europe and came in at #3 on respected country music identity John Nutting’s Australian Country Radio top 10 songs of 2017. The follow-up song, What A Shame, which was mainly written by sister Kelly, augured

The current single, Man Like You, was written by Glenn Goldsmith who wrote the 1997 Golden Guitar finalist song Burning Desire for the Crosby Sisters. “The song’s demo was originally recorded by Perth’s Wayne Green over 20 years ago and it is perfect for my album, it’s catchy and I’ve done it with a nice swing feel,” Jodie said. One of the first songs written for the album was the cowrite with fellow Tamworth singer Allison Forbes on History Of Us, and she joins Jodie on backing harmonies. Other local singers – Brent Larkham, Sarah Byrnes and Linda Newton – also add BVs on the album, and Jodie can be heard doing some as well –sounding eerily like the Crosby Sisters at times! Like Hello, What A Shame and Broken, History Of Us shows the pain of the breakup. There are also covers that could almost have been written for Jodie, particularly a very

“YES, THERE IS A RAWNESS TO THE ALBUM, BUT IT CAME NATURALLY AND IT WAS SOMETHING BOTH RUSTY AND MYSELF WANTED TO KEEP.” well for the album, which was meant to be released at the Hats Off Festival last year. Circumstances, and Jodie’s belief that some of the recorded vocals could be better, saw her returning to the studio. After some soul searching and hard work, the album was officially released just prior to this year’s Tamworth Country Music Festival and immediately started to get airplay and attention from fans and the industry. Well known photographer and country music journalist John Elliott said “Great songs, great production and Jodie is singing like a dream – and it sounds very country, which is a revolutionary concept today.” A fan was moved to write: “I wanted to tell you how your songs really touched me. I was able to identify with the pain in your words and often in your voice. Your songs made me feel like I was intruding on your life … made me cry … I was driving along this afternoon and the tears were streaming down my face.”

emotionally raw version of the Don Gibson song, (I’d Be) A Legend In My Own Time and the Hank Williams song No One Will Ever Know. “Yes, there is a rawness to the album, but it came naturally and it was something both Rusty and myself wanted to keep,” Jodie said. “We didn’t want some false perfection – it really was a kind of musical therapy for me – music helps get out the hurt and emotions. “The songs and the feels are laced with the emotions I was going through after the breakup.” Plans are underway to get both hard copy and digital distribution for the album through Checked Label Services, and Jodie is looking at a new single release about mid-year – but from the reactions to other songs on the album, that is not going to be an easy choice. “The album has been really well received – I’ve had a lot of great feedback – and everyone has a different favourite,” Jodie said. The project is the first full album produced by Rusty Crook who played most of the instruments and between him and Jodie they have created an album that distails the hurt of a heartbreak in a way that only real country music can do.

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THE WAY HE RIDES 22

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BY SUSAN JARVIS

t wasn’t surprising: Just Like Magic is a funky, catchy song that makes you want to dance, and then listen to it all over again. So when it debuted at no. 1 on the CRC chart and crossed over to pop stations, Casey knew exactly what direction his album should take – and who should produce it. I recorded Just Like Magic with Michael Paynter and Michael DeLorenzis at MSquared, and we just clicked – when we got together in a room, whether we were writing a song or recording, it really was magic,” Casey said. So, the three teamed up to write another six songs for Casey’s stunning new album, The Good Life. And it seems Casey’s instincts were spot on. The album debuted last month in the number 1 spot on the iTunes chart, and at number 13 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart, and his latest single, Ain’t Coming Home rapidly reached the top spot on the Country Tracks Top 40 chart. “It’s been an amazing couple of weeks,” Casey said. “The success of the album so far has just blown me away – it really shows that when done well, the kind of music I love to perform really hits the mark.” Casey’s also enjoyed considerable success with The Way We Ride, his second single, which earned him a finals berth in the New Talent of the Year category at this year’s Golden Guitar Awards.

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CASEY BARNES IMMEDIATELY KNEW HE WAS ON TO SOMETHING WHEN THE FIRST SINGLE FROM HIS BRAND NEW ALBUM EXPLODED NOT ONLY ON TO THE COUNTRY CHARTS, BUT ALSO GAINED A FOOTHOLD ON MAINSTREAM RADIO. “I was particularly thrilled by that nomination. I’ve actually been around for a while, but it seems people are now sitting up and taking notice of my music,” he said. They definitely did that at last month’s CMC Rocks Queensland, where Casey performed for the first time to a rapturous reception. It followed last year’s performance at the Gympie Muster, which received an equally enthusiastic response from Casey’s rapidly growing crowd of fans, who adore his passionate, positive style of music. “This album’s called The Good Life, and that’s really what it’s about. The overall message is to make the most of every moment, to celebrate life and those you love, and to not waste a minute,” Casey said. And that is very much the message of his current single, The Way We Ride, which is a country rock anthem for anyone who works a 9 to 5 job that is unfulfilling, and who dreams of escape and following their dreams. That slightly larrikin spirit has attracted the interest of the enormous PBR (Pro Bull Riding) circuit. Organisers have embraced Casey’s music, and he’s now an integral part of the Australia-wide PBR tour. “I started performing at PBR events in mid2017, and it worked out so well that I’m now on board for the whole tour,” Casey said. “The crowds are huge, and they love what I do. I’ve even started hearing people say that they saw me at a PBR event, so they decided to come to one of my other concerts, or to a festival like Gympie or Tamworth or CMC Rocks.” The PBR tour will keep Casey busy for the rest of the year, including performances at Wodonga this month and at Sirromet Winery in Brisbane in May. He’s also just performed at the Bleach Festival on the Gold Coast over Easter, and

will return to the Coast in July for the Groundwater Country Music Festival (formerly the Broadbeach Country Music Festival). “It’s a real privilege to perform the album in front of so many huge crowds – and I really love doing these songs because they have so much energy,” Casey said. Over the past couple of years, Casey’s taken his music a little further afield, performing in the United States with major stars like Kip Moore and Lady Antebellum. “It’s something I would like to do more of, and now that the album’s out, I’m hoping that we can move the US performances up a notch or two,” he said. It’s not hard to see where Casey’s positive attitude to life comes from. He’s enjoyed a long career in music, having been a finalist on Australian Idol in 2009, worked with Rick Price, and even had a number 1 hit in Europe, singing Marco Demark’s remake of Elton John’s Tiny Dancer. Happily married to Michelle, and with two gorgeous daughters, Charli and Emmy, Casey counts his blessings and is delighted to be able to channel his contentment into his songs. There is one song on this album that is a little more poignant, however. Set Sail is a tribute to his father-in-law, to whom he was very close. “He passed away last year, and we were all shattered,” Casey said. “I didn’t think I was ready to write a song about him, but one day the boys asked me if I wanted to do one, and it was like he was sending a message. Michael sat down at the piano and out of the blue started playing the Eagles’ Desperado – which was my father in law’s favourite song. “So we started to write, and Set Sail literally just flowed out. It’s still a very emotional song for me to sing.” Other wonderful tracks on this album are the heartfelt Be Mine, the rocky and very catchy Keep Me Coming Back, and the album’s title track, Better Days, which is a classic country rock ballad. Every song has the potential to be a number 1 hit, and to catapult Casey Barnes not only to the top of the Australian country music industry, but also into the international scene – he’s a world-class performer who deserves to be heard far and wide.

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EVERYBODY LOVES ANDY BY ANNA ROSE

t’s only a few metres, but to his mind it was the longest journey. Having played bass guitar and sung harmony vocals behind some of Australia’s biggest stars, it took quite a while for Andy to take those steps towards centre stage. His debut as a solo artist came in January 2018, where he was the opening act for Adam Harvey’s two big shows in Blazes Showroom at Wests in Tamworth. “I was nervous, but I knew I had

THE THING THAT MOST WORRIED ANDY TOOMBS ABOUT STEPPING OUT FROM THE SHADOWS AND INTO THE SPOTLIGHT WAS THE DISTANCE. to do a good job and just make the most of it,” Andy said from Tasmania, where he was touring with the Aussie Road Crew. “From that perspective – doing the artist thing, rather than the musician thing – there’s a big difference.” Playing to near-capacity crowds of almost 1000 people at each performance, Andy was warmly welcomed and gained a lot of confidence from that reception. Every day through the festival he had an early start at Wests’ Diggers, playing bass and singing harmony vocals on Darren Carr’s brekky show, or taking a lead vocal here and there.

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Andy’s big debut as a solo act had been a long time coming – with his musical tuition beginning in a friendly, encouraging environment many years previously. “When we were kids, my brother Duncan started learning guitar at the local music club in Toowoomba,” Andy said. “We used to jam, do a song or two and mum would take us around the festival circuit, which would end up being a weekend of catching up with mates. “Apart from stage fright, there was no sense of competition, and no egos. Everyone was having a good time. I’d go and do my song before the three judges and after I’d sung, I’d jump up and play bass for the next bloke.” It was in that nurturing environment where Andy learned the art of “lugging”, an invaluable skill that stood

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him in good stead in the years to come. Before those talent quests, Andy had never really wanted to sing. He only did it because Duncan’s then girlfriend, Lyn Bowtell, encouraged him. Lyn and Duncan would do duos at pubs and clubs with a drum machine, and they wanted a bass player, so Andy learnt on the job. As well as possessing a musical ear, where he can play most songs even though he’s never heard them before, Andy can also read backwards. “I can see from the back of someone’s acoustic which chord they’re going to play, just by watching what shape they’re going to make with their hands,” he said. Gaining experience in Southern Steel (Lyn’s band), and with his natural gift for harmonies, Andy soon found work in other bands. He played with the Blue Heelers in Brisbane, then fronted by Amanda Gilmour and later, Luella Widt. Then he got something so many Aussies would kill for – a green card – and moved to America at the end of 2001. Based in Nashville, Andy spent his first year in Music City USA waiting tables for $2.13 an hour plus tips. Two years after he’d left, Andy came back for a visit and played at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, where Beccy Cole started quizzing him about dates. As a result, he ended up staying on and working with Beccy for a year before returning to Nashville. Andy was torn between wanting to return to the States, but he really felt he was making headway in the industry back home, being invited to play for other artists.

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America won at that point and he remained in the States almost four years, spending the final two years in Orange County, California. “I just wasn’t feeling Nashville at the time. There was a fair amount of bitterness in the music business back then. “That kind of got into me a bit and I lost the urge and eventually made my way back home.” In hindsight Andy realised it was his innate shyness that held him back from getting out there in the States. “Sometimes I go inside my shell and as a result, I didn’t do too much as far as singing in Nashville. I made most of my money waiting on tables.” At least he got to serve some cool people – Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill and Travis Tritt, among others. “I lived in Nashville when country was what I grew up on,” Andy said. “I love every style of music but I’m glad I started with country. The lyrics are amazing; the words are where it’s at. “Once I get out there and start recording, I don’t want to be labelled. I just want to be me.” In May 2006 Andy returned to Toowoomba where his mother was gravely ill in hospital. He stayed at his mum’s and, thankfully, she pulled through. By then Andy began to ascend into depression, unsure of his next move and still getting over the trauma of almost losing his mother. “Gigging with the Davidson Brothers got me out of that,” he said. Then other gigs started coming in – and he began touring with Tom Curtain, who’d just released his debut album – and music worked its healing magic. While in America he’d started getting itchy feet and did a European tour with Aussie artist Wayne Law. Back home, Andy was offered the chance to tour Europe with Swiss artist, Tabea Anderfurhen and Aaron Till, which helped feed his urge to travel. He moved from Queensland to Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast, where his brother lived close by, as well as a swag of other musical mates. “Duncan has always been in my corner. We started doing Toombs Brothers gigs and

eventually I became a fulltime muso.” Being a musician, Andy never thought he’d have the stable income to get into a rental, but through a good mate, Ray Sinclair this was achieved. In 2008, he settled into a rented apartment and began to enjoy the good life, and before long Duncan had nicknamed him the Count of Copacabana! “Ray helped me out a lot back then and taught me about being prepared and how to get out there and sell myself, on all levels,” Andy said. Living near the beach, Andy felt it was time to make an important lifestyle change. At his top weight he was 146kg, so he began a fitness regime. “Most people think of embarking on something like that as a type of deprivation and lots of hard work,” Andy said. “I began an exercise program, sometimes training for three hours each day, and just started eating less than I normally would. “If you think negatively about it, it won’t work for you.” It took two years to accomplish, but Andy lost a whopping 66kg and got down to a healthy (some say too healthy), 80kg. “Losing that weight was a huge confidence builder. Once I got to 80kg, some thought I was a bit skinny, so now it’s evened out to where I’m about 90kg,” he said. “I did yoga, weights, all sorts of group classes, boxing, etc, and met lots of people. At first I thought it was the image difference, but more gigs started coming in … and a lot more ladies. “It almost complicated my life more by getting fitter, but I was like a kid in a candy store for quite a while afterwards.” With more and more gigs coming in, some of them cruises or other musical travel adventures, Andy felt he wasn’t spending enough time at home to justify the rent. That’s when he sold most of his possessions on Gumtree, bought a Toyota HiAce van, made some custom conversions to it and drove off into the sunset. Home, these days, is where he hangs his hat. It could be a motel room on tour with a major artist; it could be waking up in his van on a beach somewhere; it could be sailing the Mediterranean or the South Pacific, entertaining patrons on a cruise ship. Life is simple – and extremely enjoyable – for Andy Toombs. He’s looking forward to doing some co-writing with friends in preparation for the release of his debut album later this year. He absolutely loves being uncle to Duncan and Amanda’s wonderful sons – and believes the world is there for us all. “I sleep in my van and live in the world. There are so many options people just don’t use,” he said. “I love being near the water where I can swim in the ocean, which is good for my grounding – my whole existence really. It’s added to my life.” Thanks to Shotz by Jackson for the great photo!

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BY SUSAN JARVIS

SHARON HEASLIP EPITOMISES EVERYTHING THAT MAKES THE AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY SO SPECIAL.

he is a passionate songwriter who adores what she does, and whose sole focus is to make others happy with her music. But Sharon never planned to end up as one of the country’s most respected female bush balladeers – in fact, two decades ago a career in music wasn’t even on her radar. Back then, Sharon was a youth worker living in Orange in central-western New South Wales who dabbled in music as a hobby. “I was in my thirties when I took up singing, and I never thought it would be anything but a fun thing to do,” she said. But one day Sharon was talked into entering a country music talent search in nearby Parkes, and nothing has been the same since. “That took me to Tamworth for the first time in 1999, and while I was there I entered the Bush Balladeers Star Quest. “I got to know Charley Boyter, and worked with him and Slim’s band, The Travelling Country Band. We did a six-week tour of North Queensland in 2002, and I ended up moving back to live near Mackay. By then, the snowball had begun to gather momentum, and in 2001 Sharon was a finalist for Rising Star Female in the Southern Star Independent Country Music Awards in Mildura. “I was at least 15 years older than the other finalists, which I loved!” she said. Sharon now has six albums to her credit. The first, From the Homestead, was released in 2011, and last year she recorded her most impressive work yet, the evocative A Thousand Different Pictures. Her first single, the album’s title track – a remarkable piece of songwriting – has already been the co-winner (with Dianne Lindsay) of the Female Vocal Award at the Stan Coster Memorial Bush Ballad Awards at Bungendore, and the winner of the TSA Bev Daniel Commemorative Award for Traditional Bush Ballad of the Year in Tamworth in January. The album was also a finalist in album of the year at Bungendore. Sharon wrote A Thousand Different Pictures at a remote property in Western Australia, where her daughter was living at the time. “It’s a property called Moola Bulla near Hall’s Creek.

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I didn’t know a lot about the country, so I decided to write about how the country made me feel. I walked up over the crest of a ridge, and the amazing views just took my breath away,” she said. In a different way, the same property inspired That’ll Be Me. “My daughter had moved to this isolated property with her husband. She was only 19 and she was finding it quite difficult, so I wanted to give her a new way of seeing things – the tools not to feel alone. I wrote it while I was flying over to see her,” Sharon said. Given these amazing songs, and the many others penned by Sharon on this album, it’s a surprise to discover that she’s relatively new to songwriting. “I’ve only written a total of 11 songs in my life – and eight of them are on this album. But they’ve had such a positive response that it’s given me enormous confidence in my songwriting skills,” she said. “I had five semi-finalist spots in the TSA Awards this year, and two finalist spots in the Bush Ballad section. That recognition of my songs means so much.” Until relatively recently, Sharon says she saw herself as a portal for other people’s songs. “It was about interpreting the songs with respect and affection, and putting everything into conveying them. Someone’s taken the time to write a song, and it deserves to be presented in the most powerful way possible,” she said.

This album features four covers: a wonderful version of the Slim Dusty classic Camooweal, Footsteps To Nowhere, Where Has My Australia Gone? and Where Countr y Is. They all mean a lot to Sharon, and she’s definitely done them proud. But whether it’s her own songs or those of others, Sharon’s mission is to make a difference through her music. “I didn’t expect to be doing this, but everything in my life so far has brought me to this point,” she said. “I am so thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given, and now I want to give back by touching people with my songs.” One way of doing that is through her gospel songs, which clearly come from the heart. “They almost seem to write themselves. The bottom line is that I have huge faith, but I don’t preach about it. Somehow it just comes through the songs, which tend to arrive fully formed – lyrics and melody,” she said. “In fact, most of the songs I’ve written have appeared that way.” Gospel tracks on this album include Lord Hear My Cr y and O Lord Take Me There. The album has many other memorable tracks too. They include Because I Have You, a beautiful song Sharon wrote for her husband to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, and the delightful waltz And They Danced, targeted at her many more mature fans. I also loved Dad’s Younger Days. “My father passed away when I was only seven, so this song is a combination of a whole lot of stories I’ve been told over the years. I let my imagination go. But it’s for him, just the same,” she said. And Well Hello is a warm, fun song intended to begin Sharon’s live shows in a positive way, and to make people feel good. Not that it’s a one way process. “Country music fills me right up. I travel as much as I can to gigs and festivals – my spare time is booked for months ahead, and I love every moment. This is a very special thing to be part of,” Sharon said. And country music is lucky to have Sharon Heaslip too, because her warmth, kindness, spirit and abundant talent make the world and the industry a much better place to be.

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GIVING THE GIFT OF MUSIC years of bringing you the music 1975â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2018

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STRAIT TO VEGAS

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THE KING OF COUNTRY GEORGE STRAIT WILL PLAY TWO FINAL SHOWS OF 2018 ON DECEMBER 7 AND 8 AT T-MOBILE ARENA IN LAS VEGAS WITH SPECIAL GUESTS LYLE LOVETT AND ROBERT EARL KEEN.

he trio of Texans shared the stage earlier this month for the first shows of 2018 after initially coming together last year for Hand in Hand Texas: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief, which was a humanitarian campaign assembled by Strait—a night that ultimately raised tens of millions of dollars for hurricane relief efforts. On March 22, in New Braunfels, Texas, George was recognised by his home state with the prestigious Texan of the Year honour. With an unmatched 60 singles hitting the top of the charts – more than any other artist in any genre – during the span of his 30-year career, George Strait is the undeniable “King of Country Music”. He has collected 33

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Platinum or multi-Platinum-selling albums, more than any country artist and third across all genres behind only the Beatles and Elvis Presley. He has sold nearly 70 million albums and earned more than 60 major entertainment industry awards including induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music in a career that spans 14 albums. The Texas-based musician fuses elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel and blues in a convention-defying manner that makes him one of the most compelling and captivating musicians in popular music. Robert Earl Keen, who grew up in southwest Houston, has recorded 18 full-length albums for both independent and major record labels, while his songs have been recorded by a variety of artists including Strait, Lovett, Joe Ely, The Highwaymen, Nanci Griffith, and Dixie Chicks. The Strait To Vegas series started with just six shows in 2016 but was extended with 10 more in 2017. There are previously announced performances in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas in 2018, including May 27 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans; June 1 and 2 at BOK Center in Tulsa; and June 3 at Frank Erwin Center in Austin. years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

A HEARTFELT FAREWELL

FROM CHARLIE BY ANNA ROSE

BELOVED UK-BASED SINGER-SONGWRITER CHARLIE LANDSBOROUGH’S FINAL TOUR OF AUSTRALIA WILL BE BITTERSWEET.

hile Charlie’s excited about coming back to see all the friends he’s made over five previous tours, the parting will not be easy on the energetic septuagenarian. “I’ve made a lot of friends in Australia. Once the Aussies put their arms around you,

years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

they leave them there, so it will be a bit of a wrench when I go back to England in June,” he said from his Liverpool (UK) home. In fact, he’s so smitten with the land Down Under, he’s even written a song to express those feelings – Australia In My Heart.

But Charlie had no idea before coming out for the first time in the 1990s what to expect, so he asked some mates who’d been here – Foster and Allen. “They told me Aussies were a lot like the Irish, which I thought was an odd thing, but they were absolutely right,” he said. “Aussies are kindred spirits. It’s the nature of the people to be warm and outgoing – just like the people in Ireland. It’s a great place and while the weather in Ireland leaves a bit to be desired, the people are fantastic – just like in Australia.” Even with the dodgy weather in the Emerald Isle, Charlie wouldn’t miss touring there each year for quids, and recently completed a hectic concert tour there in January. “I toured Ireland for a couple of weeks and did the telly to kick it off, which was great,” he said. “I then put in two weeks of intensive touring covering Belfast, Dublin, the north and the south. At the concert in Belfast, I stopped singing and let the audience sing a verse. It’s wonderful to hear your own words coming back to you. “Ireland’s like a second home to me. After all, the Irish were responsible for the success I received in the first place with my song, What Colour Is The Wind. It was after that my career really took off. This is his sixth and final tour of Australia; the first he did with Arthur Laing and each subsequent trip with promoter Terry Gordon. “I’m delighted to be coming back to Australia with Terry,” he said. “It wouldn’t be the same with anybody else. And I look forward to catching up with old friends. It will be grand.” Charlie Landsborough’s Adios Australia tour begins at Twin Towns Services Club, Tweed Heads on Friday, May 4 and concludes at Blacktown RSL in Sydney on Sunday, June 10. He will perform 25 concerts during this time.

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STAR MAKER DIARY

AND WE’RE OFF! WHEN I HEADED TO TAMWORTH IN JANUARY, I COULDN’T HAVE IMAGINED THAT MY FESTIVAL WOULD TURN INTO SUCH A HECTIC WEEK.

was booked to play four band shows with the ‘brothers’, Jackson Besley, James Edge and Hunter Beasley. And then, on the first weekend, I won Toyota Star Maker. After winning I had numerous interviews on radio, print and television, plus small sets at a variety of showcase events. I was a guest of The McClymonts and Lee Kernaghan at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment & Conference Centre; I opened for Imogen Clark, performed at the Toyota Stars Under Stars, the Maton Showcase and the Closing Concert. All that didn’t leave much time to check out other bands, or see much music, but it was really cool to be so busy. My favourite part of the festival was the closing concert. The ‘brothers’ had headed home

on Australia Day but drove back from Sydney to play four songs with me at that show. I write the songs and these are the dudes that make it sound good, and make me perform the way I want to with the energy that is required for our show. When you put me on a stage of that size and quality with these boys, it’s home, it’s right and it’s special. Then after the show we all had a chance to sit down, drink a beer and yarn about the hectic week just gone. I love these dudes and was so thankful they made the effort to get back to Tamworth that day. The last couple of weeks have been a little less hectic on the gigging front. Last year’s winner Rachael Fahim and I played a show in Canberra, and then at the High Country Muster in Adaminaby, in February together and that was a heap of fun. I also did a show with Fanny Lumsden that was a lot of fun – have you seen our merch? The Star Maker team and I have been busy getting organised to release my debut album in May. We have been sorting out the cover art, video clip, tour dates, and

years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

all the fun stuff that goes along with that. It’s been three years since I started working on this record and its a work that I’m really proud of and I’m sure you will dig it. I’m heading out on tour with Adam Eckersley and Brooke McClymont in June as part of their Highway Sky tour and it’s going to be damn cool. Heading across to Perth and back playing shows at lots of places along the way – the dates are in the gig guide at the back of the magazine. We are currently working on dates for an album tour of my own so keep an eye out for those dates too on my social media, website, and right here in this mag. Huge thanks to Toyota for my flash new ride, it’s like driving a space ship but I’m slowly getting to know how all the bells and whistles work; To Maton and Fender for the kick-arse guitars and lastly to the Star Maker crew, Jason and the ‘brothers’ for joining me on this journey and working with me to make whatever this is, as big as it can be. Keep your shades low and expressions minimal Coxy 2018 Toyota Star Maker – Brad Cox

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CMC VIEWERS

the Year, an award he has won three times previously, and also the CMC Australian Video of the Year for his concert favourite Drunk from his #1 ARIA Country album Get On Your Feet. Four time GRAMMY® Award winner Keith Urban, took home both the CMC International Artist of the Year, his sixth win in this category and CMC International Video of the Year, his seventh win in this category, which he shares with Carrie Underwood for their Platinum single The Fighter, a song inspired by Keith’s relationship with his wife Nicole Kidman when they first began to date. Keith accepted both awards via satellite. The 2017 CMC Male Artist of the Year Travis Collins won the award again this year; Christie Lamb took out CMC Female Australian Artist of the Year; Tailgate Drive, the merging of well-known local Australian country artists Troy Kemp and Damien Baguley (Viper Creek Band) were awarded The Rob Potts Tribute/CMC New Artist of Year; and multiaward winning country music trio and hosts for the evening, The McClymonts took out CMC Group or Duo of the Year for the second year in a row. There were outstanding performances from the international acts Grammy Award winner Darius Rucker (For The First Time); Kelsea Ballerini (I Hate Love Songs); Old Dominion (No Such Thing As A Broken Heart); Brothers Osborne (Shoot Me Straight); and local favourites The Wolfe Brothers (Ain’t Seen It Yet), and Travis Collins and Amber Lawrence who performed their award winning duet Our Backyard. The awards kicked off Australia’s premiere international country and roots festival CMC Rocks QLD 2018.

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PAUL BROBEN

n addition to the viewer votes, country music lovers voted with their wallets which saw Lee Kernaghan’s The 25th Anniversary Album awarded the ARIA Award for Highest Selling Australian Artist. The album celebrated the silver anniversary of Lee’s ARIA Award-winning debut album The Outback Club. The CMC Hall of Fame inductee has achieved a staggering 34 #1 chart hit songs over his career and has been awarded 36 Golden Guitars and sold over two million albums in Australia. The ARIA Highest Selling International Album of the Year was awarded to Shania Twain for Now, her fifth studio album written entirely by the superstar. Having sold over 100 million records, Shania Twain is the bestselling female artist in country music history. Foxtel’s Country Music Channel (CMC) announced all of the winners during a live broadcast on CMC hosted by Brooke, Sam and Mollie McClymont. Adam thanked ‘Brandwagon’, his fans, when he received the coveted CMC Australian Artist of

Lee Kernaghan PAUL BROBEN

THE 8TH ANNUAL CMC MUSIC AWARDS WAS HELD AT THE STAR GOLD COAST ON THURSDAY, MARCH 15 AND CMC VIEWERS MADE THEIR MESSAGE CLEAR VOTING ADAM BRAND, KEITH URBAN, THE MCCLYMONTS, TRAVIS COLLINS, TAILGATE DRIVE, AND CHRISTIE LAMB TO WIN.

PAUL BROBEN

HAVE THEIR SAY

Christie Lamb years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

PAUL BROBEN

MARK GRIMWADE

Travis Collins

Adam Brand

Darius Rucker

MARK GRIMWADE

Dan + Shay

ANDREW WILSON

MARK GRIMWADE

Old Dominion

Davisson Brothers

Kelsea Ballerini ANDREW WILSON

PAUL BROBEN

The McClymonts

Tailgate Drive years of bringing you the music 1975â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2018

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ONE TO WATCH

BREAKING THE MOULD BY SUSAN JARVIS

BEING A CHILD STAR HAS ITS BENEFITS, BUT WHEN IT COMES TIME TO TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD, THINGS CAN GET A LITTLE COMPLICATED.

uddenly, the young performer wants to be seen not as a cute – albeit talented – gimmick, but as a credible, mature artist in their own right. For Taylor Pfeiffer – known for the last five years as The Banjo Girl – turning 18 has meant stepping back from her image, taking stock and re-emerging with a more sophisticated look and style. “It’s not something I’ve thought too much about – it has really just been a natural evolution,” Taylor said. “I really wanted to diversify, to try different arrangements and styles, and to grow as an artist. So I’ve moved away from the cute Banjo Girl image to become Taylor Pfeiffer.” Taylor’s always had a prodigious amount of talent, and her musical abilities have clearly evolved and blossomed since she first emerged in the country scene at the tender age of 14. Back then, she was in demand for TV appearances on shows like Weekend Sunrise, Behind the News and Spicks years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

and Specks, where she certainly did her bit to make the banjo ultra-cool. She still has a passion for the banjo – particularly the Scruggs style that is her specialty – and now teaches banjo to youngsters in her home town of Adelaide, as well as continuing to feature it in her performances. But she’s also focusing on her singing and songwriting, and has recently released an impressive new EP that showcases her talents and provides a glimpse into the new direction her career is taking. Titled Take Her, the EP features five original compositions that reveal an impressive songwriting talent that’s been

honed for half a decade. A standout track, Beauty And The Beast, explores the complex concept that the way things seem on the outside is not always how they really are, and that there is far more to people than surface appearances. It also touches on hidden depression and taking the time to look a little deeper. The song won Taylor the ASME Young Composers Award in December last year. She was also named the Most Promising Future Star at the People’s Choice Awards in Tamworth in January. The first single from the EP, the title track Take Her, is a song about breaking free from a bad relationship. It’s sassy and assertive, and unsurprisingly the very appealing video filmed for the song has been picked up by CMC. Taylor has teamed up with Golden Guitarwinning songwriter Matt Scullion in a duet on her second single, the wonderful Make Today Count, which the pair co-wrote in Nashville. “We really wanted a positive song, and this is about making the most of every moment and appreciating everything in your life,” she said. “The decision to do it as a duet was a lastminute one, and it’s not often that Matt sings – he’s better known as a songwriter – so it’s particularly special to me.” A third song from the EP, the evocative Murder In The Dark, took out third place in the youth section of the Australian Songwriters Awards. The EP’s completed by the delightful Romeo. Taylor was a Top 10 finalist in this year’s Toyota Star Maker competition, and says it was a highlight of her performing career. “It was amazing to be part of that huge concert, and to get to know the other finalists. And to perform with that incredible band was something really special. I am so glad I did it,” she said. Taylor finished high school in 2017, and has taken a year off study to focus completely on her music. She is performing at festivals across the country, and will be travelling to Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria in the coming months. She’s been accepted into a Bachelor of Popular Music course at Adelaide University, and says she’ll make a decision later in the year about whether she continues studying in 2019. Whatever path she takes, Taylor Pfeiffer is firmly in control of her career, and is set to take huge strides forward in the years to come.

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HEAR+THERE

FINDING JIMMY

WHEN TOOWOOMBA-BASED PETER CAMPBELL WAS RESEARCHING THE STORY OF HIS GREAT-UNCLE JAMES STEPHEN FARRELL (UNCLE JIMMY) HE DIDN’T REALISE HE WOULD UNDERCOVER SO MUCH.

H NOLLSIE UNBROKEN

fter spending a gruelling six weeks in the South African jungle as part of “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here”, Shannon Noll has returned to Aussie shores, once again as a runnerup, losing out to Fiona O’Loughlin. Nollsie, was second in the 2003 season of Australian Idol to Guy Sebastian, but like a true Aussie he remains unbroken and ready to hit the stage as part of his ‘Unbroken Tour’ celebrating his first new release in seven years. This quintessential Nollsie album Unbroken celebrates all things Australian and documents much of his life and the beliefs he stands by. Shannon’s time in the South African jungle saw him raise money for the Black Dog Institute. 36

e enlisted the help of fellow-Toowoomban Brendon Walmsley (Star Maker winner and Golden Guitar winner) to co-write The Lost Soldier about his uncle who was killed at the Battle of Fromelles, Northern France in 1916, as he served in the 31st Battalion AIF. The Battle of Fromelles accounted for the single greatest loss of lives in any battle in Australia’s history. Over 5,500 soldiers became casualties, with some 2,000 killed or who died later from their wounds, and 400 were captured. The Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux lists the names of 10,773 Australian soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force, who were killed in France during WW1 between 1916 and the end of the war, with no known graves. These are soldiers that Peter and Brendon have written about. Like many families, Jimmy was not the only family member to lose his life. His cousin Edgar Scanlon was also killed in action so this song was significant for Peter to deliver to not only his family but everyone else who lost brave men. The Lost Soldier was released on Peter’s EP Better Late Than Never and received a special mention in the 2017 TSA Awards. He was a finalist in new talent at the AAA Musiclinx Awards and the EP was a

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finalist in the most popular independent country EP at the 2018 ICMA Awards. Since writing the song Peter has made contact with four distant cousins from the Farrell family tree. He also got in touch with the Unrecovered War Casualties Department in Canberra and supplied DNA to the Fromelles Project in France in the hope of finding James. years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

H+T

FROM THE SHIRES THE BIGGEST-SELLING UK COUNTRY ACT OF ALL TIME, THE SHIRES, (BEN EARLE AND CRISSIE RHODES FROM HERTFORDSHIRE AND BEDFORDSHIRE) HAVE RELEASED THEIR NEW SINGLE GUILTY.

he first track taken from their third album Accidentally On Purpose due for release on April 20 through Decca Records/ Universal Music Australia. Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, the new album combines massive country-pop choruses and emotive words about their whirlwind journey, relationships and their time in the states. “From the day we met, we’ve been crazy dreamers with big plans, who really believed that country could

years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

break into the UK mainstream. We never imagined it would all happen so quickly and we’re so proud and excited to be releasing our third album,” said Ben and Crissie. The album features a track written by Ed Sheeran, a beautiful anthemic love song called Stay The Night which he wrote after he met the band on a night out in America.

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H+T

APRA HOSTS AUSSIES IN NASHVILLE

n February 23, the Australian Performing Rights Association, represented by Mark Moffatt, together with Dan Hodges Music, hosted a songwriting event to highlight Australians on Music Row. The full house sign was up at Nashville venue Belcourt Taps that saw ex-pats and visiting Aussies sing. The group included Kylie Sackley who is now a dual citizen.

Above: Standing: Mark Moffatt, Dan Hodges, Carl Wockner, Katrina Burgoyne, Amber Lawrence, Troy Cassar-Daley, Lindsay Rimes, Rick Price Seated: Sinead Burgess, Phil Barton, Danielle Blakey.

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

ands Are Clean is the second single from singer-songwriter Angus Gill’s debut album Nomad. It emphasises the importance to not judge people on appearance alone. The Wauchope NSW-based artist co-wrote the track with Drew McAlister and was initially inspired by Karise Eden, (Voice Australia winner). Following Karise’s appearance on Australian Story, where she shared her story of a physical and mental

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breakdown, Angus was compelled to put pen to paper. The 2017 Toyota Star Maker grand finalist enlisted the creative talents of fellow artist and co-manager of Sydney’s Love Hz Studios, Michael Carpenter, to bring the single to cinematic life. The music video was shot on the streets of the harbour city suburb of Newtown and the now-closed Gladesville Mental Hospital including people on the street keeping the topic real. This month, Angus is hitting the road with Emma Jene, first stop on the ‘Young Wheels Tour’ is Tasmania.

years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

H+T

A TRIBUTE TO THE CROONERS THE ALBUM TWILIGHT ON THE TRAIL, RELEASED APRIL 1 IS A BEAUTIFULLY RENDERED COLLECTION OF ICONIC COWBOY SONGS FROM THE GOLDEN ERA OF AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC.

wilight On The Trail is the first single and title track from the new collaboration from Queensland-based, Native American Jen Mize and APRA award-winning and ARIA Award nominated

iam Brew is back with new single, Shotgun, produced by Tamworth’s Rusty Crook. It’s the ultimate summer party anthem, infectious and catchy and fast becoming a live favourite amongst fans. When the Sunshine Coast resident last released new tunes (2013’s Faster) he had been focused on music for the better part of a decade. When Liam became the 2009 Toyota Star Maker he was just 18 years old and he released his debut album Wild Heart. He has been performing at major festivals and touring locally and interstate whilst working in the family business. While laying synthetic grass isn’t Liam’s

Mark Sholtez. This collaborative work takes a new look at the music of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Sons Of The Pioneers, and others, and like the landscape that

inspired these songs, the album is rich in musical detail, yet remains wonderfully open and spacious. On first listen, it’s clear Mize and Sholtez are the real deal. Building on their existing bodies of creative work, and drawing from their rich and diverse musical backgrounds, they bring new life and new meaning to this timeless material. Songs include Home On The Range, The Black Hills Of Dakota, My Rifle, My Pony and Me, Cow Cow Boogie and other treasures. In the true spirit of collaboration, this project also brings together some of Australia’s finest country and jazz musicians, including Danny Widdicombe, Glen Hannah, Brendan Radford, John Parker and James Sherlock.

first choice at making a living, he realised stepping back has allowed him to find out who he is. “I think I’ve discovered my true sound as an artist and I didn’t want to rush releasing new music. I want to make an impact,” said Liam. While 2018 has just begun, there’s a pile of new music planned with a full EP by the close of the year. The live music front is jam-packed too and Liam will perform at some of Australian country music’s biggest concerts.

LIAM BREW IS BACK years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

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LAURA COATES & ANDREW WRIGGLESWORTH THE MARRIAGE OF THE WEEPING WILLOWS’ ANDREW WRIGGLESWORTH AND LAURA COATES TOOK PLACE ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2018 AND WAS WITNESSED BY A SMALL GATHERING OF CLOSE FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

he nuptials took place at Morning Star Estate, Mt Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, where the couple grew up. The bride wore a second-hand, vintage-style, ‘Gwendolynne’ gown and her lifelong friends Jennifer White, Francesca Dias and Felicity O’Meara were bridesmaids and wore outfits, of their own choosing, with a touch of lace. Andrew chose an elaborate western shirt from Rockmount Ranch Wear in the USA, and his father was his best man. Laura walked down the aisle as her groom and Lachlan Bryan sang Change In The Wind from Lachlan’s Golden

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Guitar winning album, Black Coffee. Lachlan Bryan undertook a celebrant’s course so he could perform the ceremony and as Andrew and Laura signed the register, Golden Guitar winner Brad Butcher performed Mark My Words. The couple sang two songs during the ceremony, Jason Isbell’s If We Were Vampires and Kelly Willis’ and Bruce Robison’s

version of Our Year using a beautiful new Ear Trumpet Labs’ Josephine mic that Allan Caswell had lent them. They walked down the aisle as Mr & Mrs Wrigglesworth to Lachlan’s Ballad Of A Young Married Man, which was performed by Lachlan, and Damian Cafarella of The Wildes. Among the other guests were Aleyce Simmonds and Michelle Simmonds, Brad and Erin Butcher, Gretta Ziller, Katie Brianna, Imogen Clark and Shaun Ryan (of The Wildes), Allison Forbes and Sheree Cotter, Allan and Marian Caswell and Gary and Deborah Turner. The wedding cake was made by Lachlan Bryan’s partner, Alison Behrend, The Wilson Pickers were the wedding band and photos were snapped by David Harris of Music World Media. The couple went on a ‘Honeymoon Tour’ of the USA, performing in Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama and Louisiana. years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

With Imogen Clark and Shaun Ryan

Andrew and Damian Cafarella

The Wilson Pickers

Lachlan Bryan

With Allan Caswell and Marian Caswell

INTRODUCING

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Doug Bruce

Britton Morrison with Lloyd Clarke

Wendy Phypers and Dave Patterson

Greg Champion

Peter Coad

FIRST THE SONG TAMWORTH SONGWRITERS’ ASSOCIATION HELD ITS ANNUAL SONGWRITER SALUTE AWARDS AND NATIONAL SONGWRITING CONTEST DURING THE FESTIVAL.

ey among the accolades was Greg Champion’s elevation to the ranks of Song Maker, Australia’s country music songwriting hall of fame. The Salute Awards were presented to:Contemporary Ballad of the Year and Country Song of the Year went to Life’s About The Little Things by David & Merelyn Carter, Samantha Bellamy, John Collins, Mary V I Harrison, Robyn Hull & Shirley Lynn. Traditional Bush Ballad went to A Thousand Different Pictures by Sharon Heaslip. 42

Contemporary Song of the Year was won by Chloe Styler with Control. Ian Quinn & Roger Corbett took out Comedy/Novelty Song of the Year with New Age Computer Man. Anzac Song of the Year went to Through The Eyes Of A Boy by Wendy Wood. Gospel Song of the Year was Little Old Church On The Hill by Dale Duncan & Lola Brinton.

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The Alt Country/Blues/Bluegrass award went to Wendy Phypers with Highway 39. The Tex Morton Award was presented to Amber Lawrence. TSA’s New Songwriter Award was won by Noeleen Smith with The Bottle. The songwriting competition winners are:Ray Rusty Strings Smith won the Novice category with Follow The Wind. Colin Buchanan took out Open Traditional with That Old Bloke. Becci Nethery won Open Contemporary with Just Not Today. Ian Burns was announced the winner Alt and Blues and Bluegrass with Best Friend Is Whisky. The Lyrics Only section was won by Lloyd Clarke with Eureka and the Youth Songwriting Award went to Sam Dyball with Million Ways. Lorraine Pfitzner OAM was presented with Life Membership for her tireless work. years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

PHOTOS BY ROBYN MCINTOSH

David Carter, Sue Duchesne, Mary Harrison, Robyn Hull, Samantha Bellamy, Amber Lawrence

Noleen Smith

Dale Duncan, Britton Morrison, Lola Brinton and Ben Ransom

Ray Smith

Chloe Styler, Christie Lamb and Carolyne Morris

Becci Nethery

Weeping Willows & Allan Caswell years of bringing you the music 1975â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2018

Sam Dyball

Lorraine Pfitzner and Greg Champion

Chloe Styler

Merelyn Carter

Wendy Wood

Ian Burns

Peter Coad, Dale Duncan, Keith Jamieson C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

FESTIVALS

BOYUP BROOK

THE BOYUP BROOK FESTIVAL

AN ARTIST’S PERSPECTIVE BY A L L A N CA S W E L L

IT TOOK ME 33 YEARS TO GET TO PLAY BOYUP BROOK BUT I’M GLAD IT FINALLY HAPPENED.

Allan Caswell

s a veteran of dozens of festivals all over Australia and a number of ‘first annual festivals’ that never got to be second annual festivals, I could see straight away why Boyup Brook has enjoyed such longevity as an important part of the Australian country music calendar. The lineup for the festival was very strong and, perhaps more importantly, was beautifully balanced to cater for a very diverse and enthusiastic audience. Headlined by The McClymonts and Travis Collins, the artists included Luke O’Shea, Simply Bushed, Warren H Williams and Dani Young, Billy Bridge and Rebecca Lee Nye, Keith Jamieson and Alisha Smith, Graham Rodger, Sandie Dodd, The Benn Gunn Band, Ray Ryder, Jasmine Atkins, The Eastern Line and a host of others.

The Boyup Brook country music fans are knowledgeable and enthusiastic but what impressed me was how careful the organisers had been to cater for them all. They also tend to be old school in that they like to buy and get CDs signed. Walking through the crowd and lining up for coffee you get a good idea why the atmosphere is so good at this festival … there is a real rapport between fans and artists. The town of Boyup Brook itself has a population of 3 or 4 hundred people and it seemed that they were all involved in the festival in some way. It made you wonder a bit where all the other people had come from until you saw the high school oval packed with caravans and motor homes – country music festival held in the country has a whole different feel about it. Artists are treated with the utmost respect … and friendship. The Boyup Brook Music Park has a large, permanent, purpose-built stage or effectively two stages so that there is no delay between acts. The sound is excellent. The Music Park itself gently slopes down to the stage creating a natural Amphitheatre. You can also see the 33 years of trial and error in the way each of the days are structured. There is plenty of traditional country music for the hard-core regular fans leading into a rockier nighttime programme on the Saturday. The WA Country Music Awards on the Friday night were well presented and very well received. The festival is more than just the Music Park though. There is music all over the little

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town of Boyup Brook. A highlight for me was the show we did at Harvey Dickson’s Country Music Centre. Harvey’s is a wonderful eclectic and eccentric barn of a place. There are decades of history and memorabilia hanging off the walls and from the roof. The posters on the wall are testament to all the country music greats that Harvey has hosted over the years. Yet again, the sound was amazing and the audience were the kind that you wish you could take everywhere with you. I had the chance to do a songwriting workshop and panel discussion (with Luke O’Shea and Paulie and Chris from Simply Bushed) where we played our songs and told the stories behind them. There was a programme of workshops throughout the festival catering for everything from bootscooting to ukulele and bush poetry writing and performing. As a country music fan, you would need real stamina to get through each day at Boyup Brook. A lot of fans were there early for the Bush Poets’ breakfast, stayed through the varied country music programme during the day and into the country rock of the night. I noticed people leaving after a big day only to be replaced by people arriving to see their favourites. There really is something very special about Boyup Brook. From the Truck and Ute Muster with a parade through the streets to the Music Park to the street entertainment and stalls there is something for everyone. The town is justifiably proud of its festival and it seems like everyone is a volunteer. The organising committee managed to run a slick, well presented festival, made all the artists feel welcome and valued and still seemed to have fun with it all. I hope it doesn’t take me another 33 years to get back to Boyup Brook … the festival will still be going … I’m not sure I will years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

FESTIVALS

BOYUP BROOK

Award Winners & Finalists

Jane Germain & Ian Simpson

Jasmine Atkins

Julie Kember

Donna Lou & The Jay Katz

TWO TRIFECTAS

W Karin Page years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

est Australian Country Music Awards presented by LiveLighter were a highlight of the Boyup Brook festival and saw Karin Page and Julie Kember each take home three awards. Karin’s three awards were from songs released during her reign as the 2016 Toyota Star Maker winner. They are the Independent Single of the Year with Wherever You Are, Video Clip of the Year with Still Got You produced by Josh Favaloro, and the People’s Choice Award. Julie’s received recognition as Songwriter of the Year with Your Shoes, Independent EP of the Year with Gypsy Woman, produced by James Newhouse, Matt Coles, Bryan Retter and Female Artist of the Year. Emerging Artist of the Year was Jasmine Atkins, Group of the Year, Donna Lou & The Jay Katz; Independent Album of the Year was Home On The Hill performed and produced by Jane Germain & Ian Simpson. C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

BOYUP BROOK

U&T Parade

Art Awards & Exhibition

Simply Bushed

Kate Hindle

Graham Aird

Benn Gunn Band

Luke O’Shea with Ray Essery

The Boyup Brook Crowd

Stilt Walkers 46

Ukulele Workshop with Steve & Barbs C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

Sharon Tuckett-Daly with Luke O’Shea years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

FESTIVALS

CROSSROADS

ISC FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

Casey Barnes

Gretta Ziller

Shane Nicholson

THE INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION (ISC) HAS ANNOUNCED THE FINALISTS FOR THE 2017 COMPETITION AFTER RECEIVING MORE THAN 16,000 ENTRIES FROM 130 COUNTRIES.

he entries were narrowed down to 344 songs in a wide variety of genres. Australian songwriters fared well, with 56 songwriters making it to the finals, including: Amy Shark, Birds of Tokyo, Dean Lewis, Missy Higgins, Vera Blue, Washington, Shane Nicholson, Casey Barnes, and many more. Established in 2002, the International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is the world’s largest and most prestigious songwriting competition and is open to all professional and amateur songwriters. Winners will be selected by a panel of highprofile recording artists and music industry executives from Sony, Capitol, Sire, Elektra, Glassnote, Island, Razor & Tie, Concord Label Group, Warner Bros. Records, Alligator, WindUp, Interscope, New West, Black River Ent., years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

Word, Syco, and many more. Click here for the list of judges. The following are Australian finalists in the categories of country: The Way We Ride written by Casey Barnes, Michael Paynter, Michael Delorenzis and performed by Casey Barnes, (Gold Coast, Qld); Americana: Busted Lip by Shane Nicholson (Brisbane, Qld); Driving Me Mad, Shane Nicholson (Brisbane, Qld); Slaughterhouse Blues by Gretta Ziller (Melbourne, Vic); Some People by Matt Ellis (Sydney, NSW); Folk/Singer-Songwriter: All I Know by Shane Nicholson (Brisbane, Qld); Beach Fires written by Carus Thompson, Joel Quartermain and performed by Carus Thompson, (Fremantle, WA); Lyrics Only: The Signs by John Walsh (Sydney, NSW). ISC will award more than $150,000 in cash and prizes, including an overall Grand Prize consisting of $25,000 (US) cash, and more.

Winning ISC is a distinction that has propelled many artists to achieve greater success, including getting record and publishing deals, licensing agreements, gigs, and much more. Past winners have included: Vance Joy; Bastille; Gotye; Lindsey Stirling; Kimbra; The Band Perry; Kehlani; Andrew Bird; Passenger; Gin Wigmore; Missy Higgins; King Charles; For King And Country; and many others. Finalists have been selected in the following categories: Adult Album Alternative (AAA); Adult Contemporary (AC); Americana; Blues; Children’s Music; Comedy/Novelty; Country; Electronic Dance Music (EDM); Folk/SingerSongwriter; Gospel/Christian; Unpublished (for songwriters without a major publishing deal); Unsigned Only (for songwriters without a major label record deal); and World Music. A total of 71 winners will be selected in 23 categories of music and the winners will be announced this month. ISC is currently accepting entries for the 2018 competition. Entrants can upload or mail their songs or give a link to their songs, making it really easy because ISC will go to their song online and listen to the songs there. www. songwritingcompetition.com

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

FESTIVALS

THE PADDOCK SESSIONS

Timothy James Bowen

Tori Forsyth

THE PADDOCK SESSIONS FESTIVAL IN WOLLOMBI, NSW IS SET TO EXPERIENCE RECORD FESTIVAL NUMBERS FOLLOWING ITS RECENT LINE-UP ANNOUNCEMENT.

he event will be held on Saturday, April 28 at Taer Angwidd Farm in Wollombi and festival organisers, Merryl Naughton and Peter Ross have brought together a mix of alternative roots, rock, folk and country musicians. The diverse list of artists includes Sal Kimber & the Rollin Wheel, Hunter Valley artist Tori Forsyth, Grafton’s multiinstrumentalist 23-year-old Tullara, and 48

lyricist Timothy James Bowen, brother of Clare Bowen star of the Nashville TV Series Nashville. Melbourne duo, This Way North, with drummer and vocalist Cat Leahy and guitarist and vocalist Leisha Jungalwalla, are fresh from touring Canada and New Zealand and Joe Mungovan with his honest, original lyrics, slick vocals and

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guitar fidelity, will rock the stage. The eclectic Vanishing Shapes will perform their unique brand of fairy folk music, played with a finesse to be expected from musicians who met at Newcastle’s Conservatorium. “We love the fact the artists want to return and play at the festival year after year, it says a lot about the atmosphere we try to create for the festival-goers, as well as the artists,” Peter said. Paddock Sessions | Wollombi is a handcrafted and manicured alternative folk and country music festival held at the organisers Taer Angwidd Farm each year in the Hunter Valley. The family focused festival offers an intimate experience for festival goers. It provides self-catering and glamping overnight options as well as a licensed bar and food facilities. Gates open from 11am and tickets can be purchased online from stickytickets.com.au years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

OF DREAMS AND YOUTHFUL INNOCENCE INDIE-FOLK DUO, NUNDLE LOCAL RACHEL WEBSTER, AND SYDNEY-BASED MATT THOMSON, HAVE RELEASED THEIR DEBUT EP RUNNING IN BARE FEET.

he duo that performs as Born In October launched in Sydney in February, with a second launch on April 1 in Nundle. Last year, the duo played at the Nundle Go For Gold festival and return to launch their EP with friends and fellow local artists including Golden Guitar winner John Krsulja, plus Jeff Gibson and Lou Bradley, at The Nundle Hall on Sunday, April 1 from 6pm. Matt and Rachel have been moving in the country music circle after meeting in Sydney 2013 at a songwriter night run by Rachel’s late partner and much loved and respected country singer-songwriter, Karl Broadie. “It was Karl who introduced us and suggested we begin writing together,” said Matt, who worked with Karl under his

mentorship until Karl’s untimely passing from pancreatic cancer in 2016. The impact of this tragic loss can be heard on one of the songs on the EP co-written by Rachel and fellow Tamworth-born, Golden Guitar winner Felicity Urquhart. The song, titled Cartwheel And Climb was written at The DAG Songwriter Retreat in Nundle which Matt and Rachel attended in July 2017. “I caught up with Felicity over the festival and was so excited when she told me she plans to also record the song this year. I cannot wait to hear her country interpretation of the song. It really is a country waltz after all”, said Rachel. The EP explores the themes of youthful innocence and the re-awakening of the dreams of an inner child. The transcendence of these themes across ‘space and time’ (another re-occurring concept) is captured in

the songs Astro, No Friend Of Mine and on the bonus track available only on vinyl, Sweet Oranges Wild. The first track Free Of Heart has already gained wider attention with the announcement of this song as a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition. The duo are thrilled to have been whittled down to the top 11% out of 16,000 entries and to sit alongside fellow friends also in the Folk singersongwriter category, including Fanny Lumsden, Gretta Ziller, Jeff Gibson and Shane Nicholson. The Nundle launch will provide the perfect mountain backdrop for their second launch. The night will include delicious local produce as well as award-winning artists.

& ] “Help Me Make It Through The Night”

Album Release

Free Spiritaitl meeddia, Out now on dig cd and streaming. With single:

#1 Single

National Top 40 Country Tracks Australia

Musical Journey On CRS Vol 206

EP “That’s The Way Love Goes” Available Now! Key2 Artist Promotion key2artistpromotion.com.au/store Radio Distribution CRS Publicity

susanlilymusic.com years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

Email: tracey@alanandtrace.com Website: www.alanandtrace.com Facebook: alanandtrace

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

FESTIVALS

APRA

APRA FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

Kasey Chambers

Morgan Evans

THE NOMINEES FOR THE 2018 APRA MUSIC AWARDS HAVE BEEN REVEALED AND MORGAN EVANS, KASEY CHAMBERS, THE McCLYMONTS, BUSBY MAROU, AND SHANE NICHOLSON LEAD THE NOMINATIONS.

he nominees also features works from songwriters as diverse as Tash Sultana, Cable Ties, Jon Hume, Dune Rats, David Ryan Harris, and

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

many others. Three more awards, decided by the APRA Board of Directors, will be presented at the ceremony for Songwriter of the Year, Overseas Recognition Award and the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music. The awards for Most Played Australian Work Overseas and Licensee of the Year will also be announced on the night. Nominees include: Song of the Year

– Firewood And Candles performed by Paul Kelly, written by Paul Kelly* / Billy Miller and published by Sony/ ATV Music Publishing*. Country Work of the Year – Ain’t No Little Girl, written and performed by Kasey Chambers, published by Mushroom Music; Don’t Wish It All Away, performed by The McClymonts, written by Brooke McClymont / Mollie McClymont / Samantha McClymont / Lindsey Jackson* and published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing

The McClymonts

/ Native Tongue Music Publishing*; House, performed by The McClymonts, written by Brooke McClymont / Mollie McClymont / Samantha McClymont / Sarah Aarons / Michael Fatkin* and published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing / Universal Music Publishing*; Kiss Somebody, performed by Morgan Evans, written by Morgan Evans / Chris De Stefano*/ Josh Osborne^, and published by Warner/Chappell Music Publishing obo SongsByMe / Sony/ATV Music Publishing obo CDs Words & Music* / Kobalt Music Publishing obo Smackville Music and Anderson Fork In The Road Music^; My Breakup Anthem, performed by Caitlyn Shadbolt and written by Caitlyn Shadbolt / Jared Porter. Blues & Roots Work of the Year – Best Part Of Me – performed by Busby Marou, written by Thomas Busby / Jeremy Marou / Jon Hume, published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing; Getaway Car performed by Busby Marou, written by Thomas Busby / Jeremy Marou / David Ryan Harris and published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing; Isn’t It A Pity performed and written by Bernard Fanning; Reckless performed and written by Bernard Fanning. The 2018 APRA Music Awards will be held on Tuesday 10 April at the International Convention Centre Grand Ballroom in Sydney’s Darling Harbour and will be hosted by Julia Zemiro, with live music performances curated by Robert Conley. years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

FESTIVALS

TJUNGU ICF

TJUNGU INDIGENOUS CULTURAL FESTIVAL RETURNS TO CENTRAL AUSTRALIA THE TJUNGU FESTIVAL IS RETURNING TO CENTRAL AUSTRALIA AT AYERS ROCK RESORT FROM APRIL 26-29 FOR THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR.

he celebration of Australian Indigenous culture features music, dance, film, fashion, food and sport and will include a special focus on

Indigenous art and a performance by Australian country music favourite Troy Cassar-Daley. “Tjungu (pronounced tjoongoo) means coming together in

Troy Cassar-Daley

local Anangu language, and the festival brings together the best of traditional and contemporary Indigenous culture, providing a platform for exciting new performers, designers and producers,” said Andrew Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia. “This year, we are pleased to introduce a new art initiative which will shine a spotlight on prominent and emerging Central Australian artists.” Highlights of the four day festival include an Indigenous fashion parade featuring top Indigenous model Samantha Harris, and celebrity chef Mark Olive will return to present the “Tastes of Tjungu Desert Dining Experience Under The Stars” featuring a contemporary bush foods-inspired menu. Troy, and rising young star Alice Skye will also give a special performance. New for 2018 will be the Tjungu Collective, an exhibition featuring art works from Central Australian Art Centres, and Tjungu Curates. The annual Tjungu Cup, including softball and AFL matches featuring local football teams, will play, supported by AFL hero and Indigenous rights ambassador Nicky Winmar.

MADCDS

years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

SOUNDADVICE COSTER COUNTRY TAKE II – A TRIBUTE TO MY DAD TRACY COSTER GIDGEE/OPAL RECORDS Connoisseurs of Australian country music, and especially those of our own unique Bush Ballad genre, will absolutely love Tracy Coster’s new album Coster Country Take II … A Tribute To My Dad. This beautifully produced album is a sequel to the hugely successful album Tracy released in 2004. As Tracy says in the cover notes to the new album the original “was a form of closure and acceptance at the loss of my dad”. Over the years since the first album Tracy has had many requests to do a follow up. Take II has taken 14 years to materialise but it’s certainly worth the wait. There are 15 tracks, all gems from the Coster pen and you can feel the love and pride emanating from Tracy, for her dad, on every track. In a first, her sister Jayne joins Tracy singing Old Rocking Horse, a special moment indeed. Country music mates also join Tracy for duets, Beccy Cole Freedom On The Road, Glenn Jones Whoa, Bullocks Whoa, Jeff Brown Coley and Chad Morgan Richard Head. As Tracy says, “For me country music is a family affair. To have simply recorded a duet with these people would have been an enormous honour in itself, but to know the motive behind the songs was the love and respect of my Dad was truly awe-inspiring.” For Tracy’s fans the whole album will be awe-inspiring! GIDGEE/OPAL GRCD 0021 GARRY COXHEAD

SWAMP BLUES

ALL AMERICAN MADE

RED ROCKER RECORDS It’s a long journey from banana picking and cane cutting near Mareeba in Atherton Tablelands to recording in Texas hill country town Wimberley but this much travelled troubadour excels. Expat Queenslander Aitken’s 10th album, inspired by his Deep South environs, is aptly titled. He name-checks blues mentors in Six Stringer and explores Mississippi in High Water - one of two songs written with Texas bluesman Guthrie Kennard. 8 Ball credits Kennard for fried chicken flavoured Mama’s Cooking written at the Texan’s home and Sugar In My Coffee. Hook heavy dream drenched entrée Apple Tree segues into riveting romance plea Lindy Loo and bikie freedom anthem Iron Horse - a vast contrast to love lament Drop On By. Aitken drowns love sorrows in booze staple Sweet As You as a sibling of Drunk And Stoned while Say You Love Me proves trust and action exceed words. It compliments fitting finale Love Makes The World Go Round - the art of compromise - in a Tony Joe White and JJ Cale cued capsule.

THIRD MAN MUSIC

8 BALL 010 DAVID DAWSON

TMR-482 DAVID DAWSON

8 BALL AITKEN

MARGO PRICE

Midwest Farmer ’s Daughter Margo Price had no shortage of guests on her second solo album. Willie Nelson, 85 in April, added his vocals and guitar Trigger to bleak ballad Learning To Lose Price, 34, earned street cred by pawning her wedding ring and car to finance debut solo album at Sun Studios in Memphis. She and guitarist husband Jeremy Ivey wrote all 12 songs here including feminist anthem Pay Gap, blue collar belle fuelled Heart Of America and working mother-singer eulogy Wild Women. Price also defends feminine peers making hard decisions from entrée Don’t Say It and sibling songs A Little Pain and Nowhere Fast. She parodies faux outlaws in Cocaine Cowboys and name checks late Tom Petty as she revisits her family farm foreclosure in the title track. The McCrary Sisters adorned Do Right By Me - escaping one horse towns that segues into virtues of solitude in Loner. Price has primed the sales pump with creative videos, some recorded in Willie’s Luck movie town chapel, and live TV shows. True talent.

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

30 YEARS OF PRIDE: A TRIBUTE TO JAMES BLUNDELL

JAMES BLUNDELL AND OTHERS RED REBEL MUSIC

James Blundell’s 30-year country music career is certainly worth celebrating. This album together a generation of the artists who were inspired by his music to pay tribute. My first thought was that the careers of most of these artists were made possible by the radical shift that James caused in the industry back in the 1990s. And they certainly do him proud. James freely admits that some of these renditions outshine the originals, but he forgets that the songs are the stars. And they’ve definitely stood the test of time. There are many highlights, including Tania Kernaghan’s sweet Rain On A Tin Roof, Jonny Taylor’s Amsterdam Breakfast, Brewn’s authentic Down On The Farm and of course Way Out West, featuring James and an all-star cast. The Tree, performed by James’ sons Briar and Travis, is a very special moment, and Paul Costa kills it on The Blue Heeler. This album is a reminder of just how significant James and his music have been to country music, and a wonderful chance to revisit these fabulous songs.

FREE SPIRITED

SUSAN LILY INDEPENDENT

Adelaide singer-songwriter Susan Lily takes pride in being an observer, and her songwriting talents have allowed her to pour those perceptions into her music. This album is a diverse collection of music that ranges from traditional to alt country and everything in between. The songs are front and centre, and each one has something significant to say, conveyed by Susan’s warm, sweet vocals. I loved the quirkily titled Big Girl Pants and Free Spirited Girl, and Susan’s autobiographical Musical Journey, the first single from the album. Other highlights are the funky Had a Dream, Whiskey Neat, Country Boy, City Blues and the pure country I’m Gone, as well as the traditional When Rail Was King. But my absolute favourite is Tough As Geranium – I just loved the concept and the way the song epitomises everything this album represents. A songwriter who can channel her talents into so many styles, and do it so brilliantly and effortlessly, should be treasured. This album is packed with great songs, and is a wonderful offering from a very talented artist. SUSAN JARVIS

RRM027 SUSAN JARVIS years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

SOUND ADVICE - album reviews are the reviewers’ own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the view of Capital News or the publisher. Sound Advice will accept unsolicited albums for consideration, but cannot guarantee published reviews. Sound Advice does not review singles. Send 2 CDs together with biography or media release to Capital News, PO Box 555, Tamworth NSW 2340 and email a jpg of the cover to c.byrnes@tamworth.nsw.gov.au THE WESTERN DISTRIBUTORS SELF TITLED

INDEPENDENT

Andrew Travers and Catherine Wearne (remember Happening Thang?) are back with an album of great country, rockabilly and honky-tonk tunes, and together with a line-up featuring CMAA 2018 Musician Of The Year Clare O’Meara (fiddle, accordion), John Kaldor (pedal steel, Dobro), Guy Donnellan (guitars), Jamie Samson (double bass) and Oscar Henfrey (drums) The Western Distributors deliver the goods in spades. A live feel pervades the 11 songs and two instrumentals – all written or co-written by Travers – but it’s the heartfelt vocals from Wearne and Travers that catch the attention and refuse to let go. Listen to Between The Suns (co-written with the late, legendary drummer Robbie Souter), No One Will Miss Me, I Don’t Care, Walking Home and tell me you don’t want to immediately rewind and hear those songs again and again. No One Will Miss Me is possibly the saddest country song ever, albeit disguised with an upbeat tempo. Staple country subjectsunrequited love (You Got Me) and breakups (I Don’t Care) - get original treatments and there’s a great twist inherent in The Luckiest Man Alive. My faith in great Australian music has been renewed – this is possibly the best album I’ve come across in a long time of having to listen to flaccid, copycat country rock and pop. Sorry, but I have to say it – this is a happening thang! acebook.com/The-Western-Distributors JON WOLFE

HOME ON CHRISTMAS DAY

RIP IT UP

DARK HORSE

CALAMITY

INDEPENDENT

ATLANTIC/WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE

INDEPENDENT

Central Coast-based singer present a virtual ‘best of’ with songs from previous releases that give fans a snapshot of what this singer/guitarist has to offer. McGregor is a popular performer around the coast and Hunter Valley and The songs range from older material like Rick Nelson’s Fade Away, Bob Dylan’s Just Like A Woman (featuring James Gillard) and Eddie Rabbit’s Driving My Life Away, to more recent fare like What Was My Heart Thinking, Big Rig Wheels and his original Christmas Time In Australia. He had access to some of Australian country music’s top pickers and they sit comfortably behind him thanks to the different producers from the various albums and Eps - Herman Kovac, Rob Wilson and Ronnie Francois, with this compilation remixed and mastered by Simon Johnson. The title track was re-worked and mixed by Johnson and features newly added harmony vocals by Kelly Hope that lift the song to a different level. With this release, McGregor just may be in the running for further awards to match his previous Independent Artist Awards.

Lansky is a Queensland lad and they know their country rock up that way, so his debut album, Rip It Up, showcases the up-and-coming performer in the strongest light. The opening song, and current single, Ain’t Thinking About Monday, sets the mood for a rockin’ weekend that could just explain why a body could end up Drunk Every Sunday. The songs were written by Lansky and recorded in Nashville, so it’s easy to see where the influences come from and are well delivered. The songs are guitar driven and range from the title track to Baby You’re The Right One (with a good dose of fiddle) and the Urban-esque See You Again, to the thoughtful Back To Blue and Memphis Nights. Lansky has a unique voice that might take a little getting used to, but take the time to adjust and this is one to take on your next road trip and play it up loud – just be aware that tapping on the accelerator doesn’t make for a smooth ride.

The first notes of Devin Dawson’s debut album, Dark Horse, may raise the eyebrows of country music purists, but give this bloke’s offering a listen and you’ll soon be immersed in the lyrics that have poured from his heart and out onto this record. With influences including Johnny Cash and John Mayer, Dawson wears his heart on his sleeve and anyone who’s been through heartbreak will be struck by the vulnerability in many of these tracks. The title track was written after the album was completed, but as the closing track, it sums up Dawson like no other song and gives closure to this masterpiece of an album. I can’t stop listening to it, and anyone who appreciates honesty, vulnerability, and top-class guitar playing is sure to love this first offering from Devin Dawson. I also hope for an Australian tour announcement in the near future.

Country rocker Jayne Denham’s latest album, Calamity, has something for all country fans, and shows there’s plenty more to this artist than trucking songs. The album features a mix of country rock with Stacks, Calamity and Highway RockStar, and ballads including Fear of Flying and Black Coffee & White Lines. Having written with some of the top songwriters in the US, having the album produced by award-winning Brian White, plus recording in Jay De Marcus’ studio (of Rascal Flatts), this record hits all the right notes. These songs are among the best we’ve seen from Denham, and are sure to win her even more fans here and overseas. This is an album that you’ll be slipping into the CD player for roadtrips, turning up the rocking songs and soaking up the words of the ballads. Calamity is an album that country music lovers will keep going back to.

ROSS MCGREGOR

JASE LANSKY

DEVIN DAWSON

WARNER 9362491060 BEC BELT

JAYNE DENHAM

WJO 3300311 BEC BELT

INDIE JON WOLFE

RMC002 rosscomcgregor.com JON WOLFE

years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

COUNTRYCHARTS ARIA TOP 20 AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY ALBUMS Week Commencing 19 March 2018 TW

TITLE

ARTIST

KEITH URBAN

1 2 97 1 Ripcord 2 New 1

3 4

536 1

4 6

996 1

5 5

305 1

6 3 5 1 7 11 231 1 8 10 51 1 9 9 82 1 10 8 195 1 11 7 46 1 12 17 59 1 13 12 337 1 14 15 227 2 15 14 232 2 16 16 455 1 17 13 61 1 18 R/E 146 1 19 20 7 1 20 19 7 9

CAP/EMI

CASEY BARNES

The Good Life Greatest Hits: 18 Kids The Very Best Of Slim Dusty The Story So Far Keith Urban Adam & Brooke The Great Country Songbook The 25th Anniversary Album His Favourite Collection Fuse Keith Urban The Great Country Songbook Vol. II Dragonfly Kasey Chambers Ultimate Hits Anthems - A Celebration Of Australia A Hell Of A Career! Big Ones Greatest Hits Endless Spirit Of The Anzacs Piece Of Me Accomplice One

RKT

KEITH URBAN

CAP/EMI

SLIM DUSTY

EMI

CAP/EMI ADAM ECKERSLEY & BROOKE MCCLYMONT L HAU/UMA TROY CASSAR-DALEY & ADAM HARVEY LEE KERNAGHAN

SME ABC/UMA

JOHN WILLIAMSON

WAR

CAP/EMI

ADAM HARVEY & BECCY COLE

SME

WAR LEE KERNAGHAN JOHN WILLIAMSON JOHN WILLIAMSON LEE KERNAGHAN THE MCCLYMONTS LEE KERNAGHAN

ABC/UMA WAR WAR ABC/UMA ISL/UMA ABC/UMA

MISSY LANCASTER

SME

TOMMY EMMANUEL

SME

OFFICIAL AUSTRALIAN AIRPLAY COUNTRY TOP 20 Week commencing 24 March , 2018. TW

ARTIST

TITLE

LABEL

1 1 7 1 Keith Urban

PARALLEL LINE

2 2 11 2 Davisson Brothers Band

PO’ BOYZ

3 7 18 3 Sam Hunt

TAKE YOUR TIME

4 4 6 4 Missy Lancaster

HEATWAVE

5 3 13 1 Lee Kernaghan

DRIVE ON

ABC/UMA

6 6 13 6 Gord Bamford

LIVIN’ ON SUMMERTIME

ABC/UMA

CAP/EMI SME MCA/UMA SME

7 10 2 7 Rachel Fahim

BRAKE LIGHTS

IND

8 5 22 3 Luke Combs

WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS

SME

9 9 23 4 Caitlyn Shadbolt

BAD

ABC/UMA

10 8 22 7 Kirsty Lee Akers

TAKE ME BACK

11 12 5 11 Brad Butcher

CRAWL BEG & CRY

IND

12 11 14 11 Kalesti Butler

JUST DOWN THE HALL

CLS

13 13 28 1 Morgan Evans

KISS SOMEBODY

14 18 45 1 Sam Hunt

BODY LIKE A BACK ROAD

15 16 17 7 Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

THE REST OF OUR LIFE

SME

16 17 30 16 Cole Swindell

YOU SHOULD BE HERE

WMA

17 22 9 17 John Williamson

LOVE IS THE WORD

WMA

18 19 15 18 Luke Bryan

LIGHT IT UP

19 21 6 15 Old Dominion

WRITTEN IN THE SAND

20 20 25 12 Drew McAlister

COMING YOUR WAY

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

MAVEN/SME

WMA MCA/UMA

CAP/EMI SME ABC/UMA years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

COUNTRY TRACKS Week commencing 24 March 2018. This chart is published by Country Music Services and updated weekly at countrytrackschart.com.au POS LW

TRACK TITLE

ARTIST

1 1 5 1(2)

Ain’t Coming Home

CASEY BARNES

2 2 4 2(2)

Love Is A Fool Time Job

ALY COOK

3 3 4 3(2)

Station Minderoo

DALE DUNCAN

4 8 4 4(1)

Livin’ In The Bush

TOM CURTAIN

5 12 4 5(1)

Rollercoaster Ride

PHOEBE JAY

6 4 5 3(1)

Ain’t Seen It Yet

THE WOLFE BROTHERS

7 18 4 7(1)

Runaway Train

ANDREW SWIFT

8 7 5 2(2)

Badnews.Com

NEILLYRICH

9 11 10 1(4)

Australian Heartbeat

DREW MCALISTER

10 6 9 1(1)

Same Song Different Day

BEN RANSOM

11 24 18 6(1)

Train Wreck

ADAM ECKERSLEY & BROOKE MCCLYMONT

12 40 2 12(1)

Electric Waistband

FANNY LUMSDEN

13 13 3 13(2)

Dark Sunglasses

KRISTY JAMES

14 5 4 5(1)

Lucky Girl

CHANTELL ALEXI

15 20 4 13(1)

Sweet English Rose

KRISTY COX

16 9 3 8(1)

Calamity

JAYNE DENHAM

17 14 3 14(1)

Best Version Of Me

PAUL COSTA

18 15 5 4(1)

Be Like You

ASHLEIGH DALLAS

19 30 5 19(1)

Too Drunk To Drive

BRAD COX

20 31 9 5(1)

Loaded

CHRISTIE LAMB

CMC CHART W/c 24 March 2018. This chart is updated weekly at countrymusicchannel.com.au or tune into CMC. # TITLE

# TITLE

ARTIST

1 Livin’ On Summertime GORD BAMFORD

ABC

26 In The Morning

TORI FORSYTH

DARIUS RUCKER

EMI

27 Mercy

BRETT YOUNG

ABC

28 All On Me

DEVIN DAWSON

29 Wasco

JAIME WYATT

30 Drive On

LEE KERNAGHAN

31 If We Said Goodbye

NATALIE HENRY

32 Mr Wrong

NATALIE PEARSON CHECKED LABEL SERVICES

33 Make A Little

MIDLAND

34 A Little Pain

MARGO PRICE

35 Calamity

JAYNE DENHAM CHECKED LABEL SERVICES

RED DIRT RECORDS

36 Crawl, Beg & Cry

BRAD BUTCHER

SONY

37 Hot Country Girl

BROOKE CHIVELL CHECKED LABEL SERVICES

2 For The First Time

ARTIST

LABEL

3 Australian Heartbeat DREW MCALISTER 4 Po’ Boyz

THE DAVISSON BROTHERS DREAMLINED/SONY

5 I Will Not Give Up

O’SHEA

6 Ain’t Seen It Yet

THE WOLFE BROTHERS

SONY ABC

7 You’re Anything At All IMOGEN CLARK

LOST HIGHWAY

8 Written In The Sand

OLD DOMINION

SONY

9 Heatwave

MISSY LANCASTER

SONY

10 Brake Lights

RACHAEL FAHIM

INDEPENDENT

11 Hooked

DYLAN SCOTT

12 Elastic Waistband

FANNY LUMSDEN

13 One Number Away

LUKE COMBS

14 Shoot Me Straight

BROTHERS OSBORNE

EMI

38 Whisper In The Crowd PAUL COSTA

15 Heart Break

LADY ANTEBELLUM

EMI

39 Fly Away

16 Heaven

KANE BROWN

17 100 Year Handshake

AMBER LAWRENCE

18 Train Wreck

ADAM ECKERSLEY &

BROOKE MCCLYMONT

19 Summertime Soundtrack HAYLEY JENSEN 20 Get To You

MICHAEL RAY

21 Loaded

CHRISTIE LAMB

22 Reckless Desires

ANDREW SWIFT

23 Beautiful Freakshow

DEAN BRODY FT.

SHEVY PRICE

24 You Make It Easy

JASON ALDEAN

CURB/SONY

LOST HIGHWAY BIG MACHINE/UMA WARNER FORTY BELOW ABC INDEPENDENT

BIG MACHINE/UMA THIRD MAN

INDEPENDENT

CHECKED LABEL SERVICES

JASMINE RAE

ABC

SONY

40 Bury Me In Blue Jeans TAILGATE DRIVE CHECKED LABEL SERVICES

ABC

41 All You Need Is Music THE DAVIDSON BROTHERS INDEPENDENT ARNA GEORGIA

42 Broke & Single LOST HIGHWAY

SOCIAL FAMILY RECORDS WARNER ABC SOCIAL FAMILY RECORDS

INDEPENDENT

43 Favourite Distraction MATT SCULLION

SOCIAL FAMILY RECORDS

44 I Got This

JERROD NIEMANN

45 Light It Up

LUKE BRYAN

46 Mr Jukebox

JOSHUA HEDLEY

CURB/SONY EMI THIRD MAN

47 When Someone Stops Loving You LITTLE BIG TOWN OPEN ROAD/ABC BROKEN BOW/SONY

25 Drive ‘Til The Wheels Fall Off KIRSTY LEE AKERS years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

LABEL

CHECKED

EMI

48 Kiss Somebody

MORGAN EVANS

WARNER

49 It’s Only Midnight

MATT CORNELL

CHECKED LABEL SERVICES

50 Five More Minutes

SCOTTY MCCREERY

TRIPLE TIGERS/SONY

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

BUSH BALLADS

RINGERS IN

THE SKY BY PETER COAD OAM WWW.BUSHBALLADEERS.COM.AU

ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER BALLADEER STORYTELLER ARTISTS, GRAHAM RODGER RELEASED HIS BRAND NEW ALBUM RINGERS IN THE SKY LAST MONTH.

he album is 13-tracks and includes Ringers In The Sky, From The Top Rail, Child Of The Overflow, Tiny Bush Grave, Uluru, Riding In The Bar, Sons Of The Territor y, My Kinda’ Countr y, I’m An Old Black Man, Sunrise On The Katherine, The Pearl Of Them All, Where The Three Rivers Flow and I’ve Been A Fool Too Long. With his annual Tag-Along tours

throughout the Australian outback, taking in new destinations each year, Golden Guitar winner Graham, has picked up more awards than many in the business for his song writing commitment and tireless touring of this nation. His fifth tag-along tour starts in Miles and heads to The Cape via The Gulf. If you’re interested in tagging along, call Graham on 0427 130 853. Each year, Graham has sell-out concerts at the Tamworth Country Music Festival and in 2019 he will be presenting a show as part of ABBA ‘Balladeers Homestead’ venue concert listing. I congratulate Graham on this new album release and wish him every success with it.

BOONDOOMA BALLADEERS & HERITAGE MUSTER Held annually at the historic Boondooma Homestead in Queensland, the 2018 original ‘Spirit Of The Bush’ Traditional Balladeers & Heritage Muster will take place from April 25 to 29. Featuring a poets breakfast, Anzac service at 9am Wednesday the 25th followed by entertainment from some of Australia’s top balladeers and poets. The entertainment includes walk-up artists, poetry competition and vintage cars & engines, broad axe, adze, photographic and historic displays. Check the www.boondoomahomestead. org.au for more details.

ALBUM REVIEWS BUDDY WESTON

RADIO DREAMING Jel1043 This is the latest release for Buddy a CD of 11 tracks with some new songs from him and a few covers such as the Brian K Kelly song Lady Nicotine and Travelling Snakes. Included is Queen Of Tamworth’s Country Radio (which was released as a single on ABBA Vol 19 CD) along with five more originals of Buddy’s all well-written and great to listen to as they are recorded in the traditional style of country music. The title song is a top song along with My Audience Of One. The album concludes with a Kelly & Marion Dixon tune Good Things In Small Packages. For more details contact Buddy direct on 0419 666 694.

BOB GREGORY, KATE DANIEL & NEV MOLLOY

ALONG THE TRACK DOL157 This is the first CD together with a mixture of original and older country songs plus some instrumentals making this a very enjoyable album. California, Old Man’s Kingdom, Trading My Crown For A Ring etc., are recorded in bush ballad style which really suits her vocals. Bob and Nev get together on Camooweal, Keep The Lovelight Shining etc. (Bob on vocals and Nev on lead guitar). Bob has a great version of his own song Voices Of Australia. Nev has his comedy song Flies Can’t Talk. This album was recorded in different studios, Nev in Forbes, Johnny Kaye in his Dolphin studio and Bob at home. Mixing them all together makes a good traditional album. For more details contact direct 0400 803 456.

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

BILL MURRAY

WIRADJURI MAN LBS 174CD This is his first mini CD for LBS although he did record with Lindsay Butler many years ago as he was one of the first artists to record over 25 years ago. Bill is a respected elder in his area and it is not surprising that he wrote and recorded the song Save The World For Our Children. The second song from his pen is The Rodeo Rider dedicated to Brian Young. Bill is proud to be back with LBS and have this album release with four songs on. Contact LBS for more details 07 5562 1292.

years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

D O W N M E M O RY L A N E

CRAIG GILES CALLS ON FRIENDS FOR LATEST RELEASE WITH LORRAINE PFITZNER

ON THIS LATEST CD, CRAIG GILES HAS INVITED 11 OF HIS FRIENDS TO JOIN HIM.

ith A Little Help From My Friends is a very listenable album. Not only do the songs suit Craig’s vocals, but those of his duet partners as well. Kinta and Craig perform two very popular duets – Friends and I Can’t Dance. The album opens with You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, a collaboration with Justin Standley, and then on track nine, Bye Bye Love. There are several outstanding duets and one is the recording with Corinna Cordwell, Proud of You, which was lifted from an earlier album (A Love So True). It is good listening to these duets as Craig sings with Grant Luhrs (Cunnamulla Fella), Wayne Horsburgh (Pokarekare Ana and Tiny Bubbles), Lee Forster (Sneakin’ Out Behind the Shed and Bakersfield). This album certainly has a variety of artists and songs and was recorded at Flying Fox Studios, Wagga Wagga. Craig’s professional musical career goes back to 1986 when he was working as a panel beater in his father’s Ford dealership. Craig decided to try his luck on the road, so he and wife Roz travelled around for six months. It was a very successful time for Craig as an entertainer, and he knew this was the lifestyle he wanted, preferring to beating out a song, than a panel. In 1987 he released an EP of four songs – Country Music Man, Heartache Blues, Heart of Australia, Pub Crawl. In 1988 came his first full album, Craig Giles Sings for You. Down through the years Craig has released 16 albums. From these albums, 19 songs were either written by Craig or co-written with wife Roz and Lorna Nelson. A Million Beerdrops, Ambush, Hokonui Hills and others have all charted well. In November 1998, Craig’s hometown of Finley paid tribute to him by unveiling a large plaque containing his photo framed by a hand-carved wooden scroll and bearing the inscription “Finley: The Home of Craig Giles.” The plaque is now mounted in the Finley Mall and has become one of the area’s tourist attractions. It was a very fitting tribute paid to him by his birthplace. Craig is known as “Mr Versatile” owing to his ability years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

to perform an extensive and varied repertoire of music, which spans the spectrum of ballads through to all styles of country and rockabilly, as well as popular songs from the ’50s-’60s rock’n’roll era. Now living in Temora, NSW, Craig’s popularity sees him touring extensively and playing to many audiences Australia-wide, from the Sydney Opera House to Wrest Point Casino in Tassie. Craig also tours internationally with his performances having been enjoyed in the Hokonui Hills of New Zealand and throughout the USA, Canada, Scotland, Ireland and London. He has been celebrity host for music tours of America with his many and varied performances including tributes to Elvis Presley in Tupelo, Mississippi; tributes to Johnny Cash in Chattanooga, Tennessee; gospel performances at Al Green’s Tabernacle Church in Memphis plus countless other guest appearances. Years of constant travelling, a string of successful albums and hit singles plus endless awards and accolades that just keep coming, have well and truly earned this entertainer a prominent place among the cream of Australian entertainers.

Craig’s musical journey has included many accolades and highlights. Here are some of them: 1987 – won the prestigious Search For A Star Quest in Wagga Wagga, NSW; 1988 – released an EP, Country Music Man, and toured with the Ray Kernaghan Show. Released his first album, Craig Giles Sings For You; 1993 – released his fourth album, Ambush, and was voted Most Popular Australian Recording Artist on 7LTN, Launceston; 1994 – voted Most Popular Act on national television series, It’s Country Today; 1995 – at the South Australian Country Music Festival Awards he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Released his fifth album, Captured; 1996 – Inducted into the Country Music Stars of Fame at Wallsend, Newcastle. Released sixth album, A Matter Of Time. Received the Asthma Achiever Award for recognition in the music industry; 1997 – released an hour-length video, Up Till Now; 1998 – inducted into the Australian Country Music Hands of Fame in Tamworth, and the New Zealand International Country Music Hands of Fame; 2000 – received Best Male Vocal at the People’s Choice Awards; 2002 – won Album of the Year with No Matter What in the Tasmanian and New Zealand Songwriting Awards; 2003 – won Vocal Collaboration for No Matter What in the TIARAs; won the Open Contemporary section of the Tasmanian and NZ Songwriters Awards, and secured second place in the same section; 2005 – a finalist in Male Vocal, Album and Song of the Year sections of the People’s Choice Awards; 2009 – Craig and his band were the support act for international superstar, Glen Campbell.

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

W RITING GRE AT SONGS

WORK ETHIC THE HARDEST PART

BY A L L A N CA S W E L L

I OFTEN QUOTE TOM T HALL WHO ONCE SAID THAT THE MOST CREATIVE THING MOST SONGWRITERS DO … IS TO MAKE EXCUSES FOR NOT WRITING. WRITING SHOULD BE FUN … BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO WORK AT IT.

ongwriters often spend more time talking about writing, the industry, the charts and how tough the industry has become than they do actually writing songs. Songwriting is like golf … the more you do it, the better you get at it. The more writing you do, the more instinctive it gets, you teach yourself the tricks that will get you out of the holes you create for yourself. No writing session is wasted … even a disappointing song can teach you things about your craft. The reason I always try to enjoy my songwriting is so that I spend more time doing it. There are always calls on your time … if you are going to be a songwriter you have to give it a real priority.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF WORK ETHIC Specialist songwriters like say, Matt Scullion or I write lots of songs, often with artists for their albums. To do what we do we need to write a lot of songs and it’s the number of songs we write that forms the basis of our careers. We both make albums and do gigs but they tend to be a bi-product of our writing. Amber Lawrence, Aleyce Simmonds and Michael Carpenter, three friends and regular co-writers all run successful music based businesses but still make songwriting a major priority. They mainly write for their own projects but really put the effort into their writing.

A number of very successful singer-songwriters that I know don’t write much until they have an album due … they then put everything to one side so they can focus all their attention on writing the next album. When the album is imminent they are all business and work really hard until they have the songs. I am never critical of songwriters who have day jobs, play covers or spend valuable writing time making a living. The music business is tougher now than at any time in the last 40 years … there is very little money to be made from your work … the idea that all music should be free has killed off everything but the dream you had when you started. You write songs because you love it and you want to write your best stuff … it doesn’t just happen … you have to work at it.

When you get the hook, the song is rolling and you’re excited by it, songwriting is easy. The real work is involved in coming up with the idea and getting the song started … and after you think the song is finished. The editing and fine tuning phase of the songwriting process can be time consuming and irritating but can be the difference between a great song and one that goes nowhere. I always recommend putting the song away for a week then coming at it fresh to do the editing. When the adrenalin is running you can be fooled into accepting lines that really limit the songs effectiveness. Editing is hard work but essential.

INSPIRATION VERSUS PERSPIRATION In songwriting inspiration often outweighs perspiration but you seriously need both. A great idea can be ruined by a lack of effort in presenting your idea in its best light. Songwriting is an art but it’s also a craft … it may be fun but it’s also hard work.

FINALLY You have to put in the hard yards. Athletes train, sportspeople practice … and songwriters write. No one ever made it as a songwriter without working at it. Writing the song is only part of the job … you have to work to get the song heard. This may involve recording the song yourself, playing the song live or trying to get your song to someone who will … that’s hard work but it’s your job See you next month … maybe.

1966 - 2016 CELEBRATING 50 YEARS SINCE ARRIVING IN AUSTRALIA ALLAN CASWELL’S BRILLIANT NEW ALBUM

50 Years in OZ

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

19-22

Winton’s Way Out West Festival | Celebrating Waltzing Matilda | E: info@wintonswayoutwestfest.com.au | T: 1300 MATILDA | W: wintonswayoutwestfest.com.au

MAY 2018 2

Australian Country Dance Festival ‘Mayworth’, West Tamworth League Club NSW

4-6

38th Annual Redlands CMF & TQ | Redlands Bay | Qld | M: 0438 050 249 | Contact Allen | M: 0413 877 756 | W: redlandscountry.asn.au

11-13

NZ Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival | NZ | Contact Shirley May | T: 027 235 0106 E: maysplace@actrix.co.nz W: country-rock.co.nz

17-20

20-25 25th Norfolk Island CMF | E: nicma@norfolk.net.nf | W: norfolkislandcountrymusic.com 14-20 Bouldy Bush Ballad | Bash Bouldercombe Rec Complex Qld | Walkups Mon to Fri, and Tony McKenna guest artists and poets | Sat and Sun Chad Morgan, Alisha Smith, Chad Morgan, Reg Poole, Peter Simpson, Gary Fogarty, Ray Essery, Jeff Brown, Dianne Lindsay, Jammo, Col Edmonds and Sharon Heaslip | Facilities include camping, showers, toilets, water | Contact Keith Jamieson | M: 0427 731 088 25-28

Barham Balladeers & CMF

JUNE 2017 2-4

NZ Gold Guitar Awards | Gore | NZ

2-12

38th SA CMF & Awards | Barmera | SA | Contact Murray Mac | M: 0417 868 571

8-11

CMA Music Festival | Nashville | USA

8-12

Henry Lawson Festival | Grenfell | NSW | henrylawsonfestival.com.au

8-12

Bluewater CMF | Nelson Bay | NSW | bluewatercountrymusic.com

9-12

9th Perisher Peak Festival | Perisher Valley | NSW | T: 1300 811 324 | W: peakfestival.com.au

10-13 Corowa RSL Club Annual CM Round Up | corowarsl.com.au 30-July 2 Sarina CMA’s CMF |

DEBUT SELF-TITLED ALBUM BRAD COX OUT MAY 4 PRE-ORDER NOW THROUGH ITUNES LAKE HOUSE THE BEAUTIFUL NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO OUT NOW e: starmaker.com.au | w: starmaker.com.au | bradcoxofficial.com.au | years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

bradcoxofficial.com.au

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

GIGGUIDE

ADAM ECKERSLEY AND BROOKE MCCLYMONT APRIL 6 Young SC NSW 7 Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre NSW 12 Toff In Town, Melbourne Vic 13 York On Lilydale, Mt Evelyn Vic 14 Gateway Hotel, Geelong Vic 26 Brass Monkey, Cronulla NSW 27 Leadbelly, Newtown NSW 29 Oaks Hotel, Albion Park Rail NSW MAY 11 Brothers Leagues, Cairns Qld 12 Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville Qld 13 Mt Pleasant Tavern, Mackay Qld 15 Glenmore Tavern, Rockhampton Qld 16 Hervey Road Tavern, Gladstone Qld 17 Melbourne Hotel, Bundaberg Qld 18 Caloundra RSL Qld 19 Highfields Tavern, Toowoomba Qld 31 Coomealla Club, Dareton NSW* JUNE

1 Wheatsheaf Hotel, Adelaide SA* 3 Boston Bay Wines, Port Lincoln SA* 6 Ceduna Memorial Hall SA* 10 Mumballup Tavern, Donnybrook WA* 14 Settler’s Tavern, Margaret River WA* 15 Prince Of Wales Hotel, Bunbury WA* 16 Odd Fellow, Fremantle WA* 19 Kalgoorlie Hotel WA* 22 Musicians Club, Broken Hill NSW* 23 Cobar Bowling & Golf Club NSW* 29 Woodburn Evans Head RSL, Evans Head NSW 30 Bush To Bay Music Festival, Hervey Bay Qld

ADAM HARVEY APRIL 5 Temora Ex-SC NSW 6 The Man From Snowy River Bush Festival, Corryong NSW 7 Goulburn Workers Club NSW 12 Bairnsdale RSL Club Vic 3 Wonthaggi Workmens Club Vic 14 The Top Pub, Morwell Vic 19 Forbes SC NSW 20 Bathurst RSL Club NSW 21 Dubbo RSL Club NSW 26 The Village Green Hotel, Mulgrave Vic 27 The Gateway Hotel, Corio (Geelong) Vic 28 The York On Lillydale, Mount Evelyn Vic 29 Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, Vic

ALICE BENFER APRIL 7 Geebung Bowls Club Qld 14 Gympie Senior Citizens Centre Qld

Please note all show venues & times are correct at time of printing. Capital News recommends you check with the venue prior to attending.

20-22 Monogorilby Camp Oven Comedy, Monogorilby Hall Qld 27-29 Boondooma Spirit Of the Bush, Boondooma Homestead Qld MAY 13 Nanango RSL Qld 27 Grandchester Community Hall Qld

AMBER LAWRENCE MAY 17 Malanda RSL Qld 18 Reef Hotel Casino, Cairns Qld 19 Dalrymple Hotel, Garrett Qld 23 Bowen Cinemas Qld 24 McGuires CBD Hotel, Mackay Qld 26 Bottle Tree Hotel, Ipswich Qld 27 Casino RSM NSW 31 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River WA

15 Rainforest Ranch, Byfield Qld 16 Captain Cook Holiday Village, Seventeen Seventy Qld 19 Pig & Tinder Box, Tamworth NSW 20 Two Goats Cafe & Baa, Armidale NSW 21 Fox Den Cafe, Gloucester NSW 22 The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield NSW

ANGUS GILL APRIL 20 Devonport RSL Club Tas 21 Molly Malone’s Irish Pub, Devonport Tas 22 Menai Hotel Tas 27 New Norfolk RSL Club Tas 28 Sunny Hill Hotel, Launceston Tas 29 Huntingdon Tavern, Kempton Tas

BEN RANSOM APRIL 1 Sydney Royal Easter Show, Olympic Park RAS Showgrounds NSW 20 Sarina Hotel Qld 21 Kinchant Dam Qld 28 Wests Diggers, Tamworth NSW

BILLY BRIDGE ANDREW SWIFT APRIL 1 Mallacoota Foreshore Caravan Park Vic 7 Next Level Ceres, Echuca, Vic 8 Tumut River Brewing Co NSW 12 The Milk Factory, Brisbane Qld 13 Ricks Garage, Palmwoods Qld 14 The Royal Hotel, Gympie Qld

APRIL 1 Riversands Winery, St George Qld MAY 25 Rising Sun Hotel, Rosewood Qld

BORN IN OCTOBER APRIL 1 Nundle Memorial Hall NSW

S O N GW R I T E R S J O I N T SA MEMBERS BENEFITS

• Informative quarterly newsletters • Reduced fees for TSA National Songwriting Contest Re • Reduced fees for TSA Sponsored So Songwriting Workhops • $69 Annual Single Membership includes 12mths Country Music Capital News Co • $35 Annual Single Membership excludes Country Music Capital News Co • Options Op for Junior and Household memberships • Pe Performances opportunities 60

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

JOIN online or complete d e t a i l s b e l ow

and send to Tamworth Songwriters'Association Inc PO Box 618 Tamworth NSW 2340 Please send me a TSA Membership Application form Name: .......................................................................... Address: ....................................................................... ....................................................................................... www.tsaonline.com.au years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

Please note all show venues & times are correct at time of printing. Capital News recommends you check with the venue prior to attending.

GIGGUIDE MAY 5 The Colonial Hotel, Werrington NSW 26 Park Beach BC, Coffs Harbour NSW

CRAIG GILES

CHARLIE LANDSBOROUGH (UK)

BRAD COX *Adam Eckersley & Brooke McClymont Tour APRIL 6 Man From Snowy River Festival, Corryong Vic 21 The Rock Campdraft, Bullenbong Hut NSW MAY 31 Coomealla Club, Dareton NSW* JUNE 1 Wheatsheaf Hotel, Adelaide SA* 3 Boston Bay Wines, Port Lincoln SA* 6 Ceduna Memorial Hall SA* 10 Mumballup Tavern, Donnybrook WA* 14 Settler’s Tavern, Margaret River WA* 15 Prince Of Wales Hotel, Bunbury WA* 16 Odd Fellow, Fremantle WA* 19 Kalgoorlie Hotel WA* 22 Musician’s Club, Broken Hill NSW* 23 Cobar Bowling & Golf Club NSW* JULY 12-15 Toyota Hats Off To Country, Tamworth NSW NOVEMBER 10 Dunedoo Tunes On The Turf, Dunedoo Sports Club NSW

BRENDAN NAWROCKI MAY 4 Two Goats Cafe and Baa, Armidale NSW

CASH ONLY - THE JOHNNY CASH TRIBUTE BAND APRIL 7 Club Grandviews, Peakhurst NSW years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

MAY 4 Twin Towns SC, Tweed Heads NSW 5 Empire Theatre, Toowoomba Qld 6 Caloundra RSL Club Qld 8 Brolga Theatre, Maryborough Qld 10 St Mary’s Hall, Rockhampton Qld 11 Brothers Sports Club, Bundaberg Qld 13 Ulmarra, via Grafton NSW 15 Laurieton United SC NSW 16 West Tamworth League Club NSW 17 Young SC NSW 18 Commercial Club, Albury NS 19 Kyabram Bocce Club Vic 20 Victoria BC, Ballarat Vic 23 Sphinx Hotel, North Geelong Vic 25 Burnie Civic Centre Tas 26 Wrest Point Casino, Hobart Tas 27 Launceston Country Club Tas 29 City Memorial BC, Warrnambool Vic 30 Millicent and District Community Club SA JUNE 1 Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club Vic 3 Morwell Club Vic 7 Batemans Bay Soldiers Club NSW 8 Goulburn Workers’ Club NSW 9 Weston Workers’ Club NSW 10 Blacktown RSL Club NSW

CHRISTIE LAMB APRIL 19 Tourist Hotel Queanbeyan NSW 20 Alpine Hotel, Cooma NSW 21 The Power Ranch Trafalgar Vic 25 The Colonial Hotel, Werrington NSW 28 Lithgow Workmens Hotel NSW

APRIL 4 Temora ExSC NSW 6 Wagga Aussie Rules Club Wagga Wagga NSW 8 Bathurst RSL Club NSW 10 Ettalong Diggers Club, Ettalong Beach NSW 12 Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club NSW 13 Budgewoi Soccer Club NSW 15 Abermain BC NSW 16 Club Central, Hurstville NSW 27-29 Lameroo Memorial Hall SA MAY 4 Victoria BC, Ballarat Vic 5 Barham SC NSW 8 Shepparton RSL Club Vic 11 Wagga Aussie Rules Club, Wagga Wagga NSW 13 Temora ExSC NSW 30 Kedron Wavel SC, Chermside Qld 31 Toowoomba City GC Qld

DALE HOOPER APRIL 29 Bathurst RSL Club NSW

EMMA JENE APRIL 15 Jamberoo Pub, Jamberoo NSW 20 Devonport RSL Tas 21 Molly Malones Irish Pub Tas 22 Menai Hotel Tas 27 New Norfolk RSL Tas 28 Huntington Tavern, Kempton Tas 29 Sunny Hill Hotel, Launceston Tas MAY 20 Yass Senior Citizens Hall NSW 7 Angles Bayside Cafe, Huskisson NSW

GEOFF WILLIAMS APRIL 29 Pittwater RSL Club, Mona Vale NSW

GEORGIA FALL MAY 5 Caboolture Showground Qld

GRETTA ZILLER *Innocent Eve **Mat Black & Ben Mastwyk APRIL 1 Mallacoota Foreshore Caravan Park Vic 5 The Retreat Hotel Vic* 8 Union Hotel Brunswick* (solo) 15 House Concert @ The Shed, Melbourne Vic 20 The Taproom Castlemaine Vic 22 Blue Gables Winery Vic 24 Croydon Brewery Vic** 29 Union Hotel Brunswick Vic (band)

HAYLEY JENSEN

DEAN PERRETT MAY 26&27 Wyper Park Scout Camp, Bundaberg Qld JUNE 8-10 44 Hayes Road, Lower Wonga Qld SEPTEMBER 7-9 Nanango Showgrounds Qld

DIANNE LINDSAY MAY 19 Bouldercombe Showground Qld 24 Casino NSW 27 Mona Vale RSL NSW

MAY 10 The Leadbelly, Newtown, Sydney NSW 11 Harmonie German Club, Canberra ACT 12 Kinross Woolshed, Albury NSW 13 The Toff in Town, Melbourne, Vic

HAYLEY MARSTEN APRIL 1 Willy Eds, Gladstone Qld 13 Ricks Garage, Palmwoods Qld 15 Royal Hotel, Gympie Qld 16 Rainforest Ranch, Byfield Qld 17 1770 Caravan Park, 1770 Qld 20 Saleyards Hotel, Rockhampton Qld 29 Canvas, Woollongabba Qld MAY 5 City Sounds, Brisbane Qld 13 Steampunk, Surfers Paradise Qld

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

GIGGUIDE HILLBILLY GOATS APRIL 1 Kilkivan Bush Camp Qld 6 Railway Hotel, Bundaberg Qld 7 Bajool Hotel, Bajool Qld 8 Beaches Resort, Yeppoon Qld 20 Gympie RSL Qld 25 Reef Gateway Hotel, Airlie Beach Qld 27 Kingscliff Beach Hotel NSW MAY 1 Leap Hotel, The Leap (ex Mackay) Qld 5 Herberton Historic Village, Atherton Tablelands Qld 7 Yorkeys Knob Boat Club, Cairns Qld 19 White Cliffs Festival NSW 25 Gympie RSL Qld 26 The Shared, Yandina Qld 27 Peregian Beach Hotel Qld

HURRICANE FALL APRIL 14 Shoal Bay Country Club NSW 15 Queens Wharf Brewery, Newcastle NSW 28 Wellington Race Course NSW 28 Mezz Bar, Wallsend NSW MAY 4 Gunnedah Services and BC NSW 5 Manilla RSL NSW 11 Halekulani BC NSW 12 Rooty Hill RSL NSW

29 Lefty’s, Brisbane Qld MAY 4 USQ Little Village Sessions, Toowoomba Qld

JOHN ‘K’ KRSULJA APRIL 1 Nundle Easter Festival NSW 28 Peel Inn Hotel, Nundle NSW

KYLIE ADAMSCOLLIER JULY 22 Country Heritage Association of Queensland Inc, Grandchester Qld

LEE KERNAGHAN MAY 19 Ord Valley Muster, Kununurra NT JUNE 7 Costa Hall, Geelong Vic 8 Shoppingtown Hotel, Doncaster Vic 9 Macs Hotel, Melton Vic 10 Chelsea Heights Hotel Vic

APRIL 29 The Irish Village, Emerald Qld MAY 27 The Irish Village, Emerald Qld JUNE 3 The Irish Village, Emerald Qld

KEL-ANNE BRANDT

*Sings John Denver JUNE 8 Macksville Ex Services NSW 9 Grafton Ex Services NSW 10 Laurieton United Services NSW 15 Centro CBD, Wollongong NSW 16 Harmonie German Club ACT 30 Art House, Wyong NSW

*Twilight on the Trail APRIL 13 The Spotted Mallard, Melbourne Vic

26 Laurieton United SC NSW 31 Griffith Regional Theatre NSW JUNE 1 Civic Theatre, Wagga Wagga NSW 2 Swan PACC, Swan Hill NSW 3 Mildura MAC, Vic 14 Mingara Recreation Club, Tumbi Umbi NSW 15 The Cube, Campbelltown NSW 16 Rooty Hill RSL NSW 17 Ulladulla Services Club NSW 21 Seymour Centre, Sydney NSW 22 Anita’s Theatre, Thirroul NSW 23 Panthers, Bathurst NSW 24 Canberra Playhouse Theatre ACT 28 The Event Centre, Caloundra Qld 29 Twin Towns, Tweed Heads NSW

KALESTI BUTLER

JASON OWEN

JEN MIZE AND MARK SHOLTEZ

Please note all show venues & times are correct at time of printing. Capital News recommends you check with the venue prior to attending.

KASEY CHAMBERS Campfire Tour MAY 23 Casino RSM NSW 24 C Ex-Services Club, Coffs Harbour NSW 25 Club Forster NSW

APRIL 8 Cabra-Vale Diggers NSW 19 Heritage Village, Canton Beach NSW 22 Lake Munmorah BC NSW 29 Nelson Bay Diggers NSW MAY 2 The Juniors, Kingsford NSW 20 Sawtell RSL Club NSW

KIDDNKELLY GANG MAY 6 Timewarp Festival, Palmwoods Qld

LINDSAY BUTLER & SHAZA LEIGH WITH THE BUTLER SHOWBAND APRIL 7 Tenterfield GC NSW

Visiting Tamworth?

See Star Maker’s amazing journey at the Star Maker Café at Diggers, Kable Ave, Tamworth

1979 62

THE LEGEND CONTINUES

C O U N T RY M U S I C C A P I TA L N E W S A P R I L 2 0 1 8

2018 years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

Please note all show venues & times are correct at time of printing. Capital News recommends you check with the venue prior to attending.

GIGGUIDE SHARNEE FENWICK

MAY 5 Caboolture Showgrounds Qld 19 Tamworth Wests, Tamworth NSW JUNE 29 Tamworth Wests NSW

APRIL 6 Redfern RSL NSW

RACHAEL FAHIM

MELISSA BAJRIC APRIL 1 Poleys Place, Barrington NSW

MERILYN STEELE APRIL 7 Denistone Sports Club, West Ryde NSW 15 West Tradies, Dharruk NSW 25 Bargo Sports Club NSW

MURPHY’S PIGS MAY 4 Glen Innes SC NSW

PETE SMITH *Variety Show APRIL 8 Culcain BC NSW 11 Albury Village Vic 15 Warrnambool City BC Vic 15 Beaufort GC Vic MAY 1 Vic BC, Ballarat Vic 2 Horsham BC Vic 21 Ballarat Seniors, Barham NSW 25 Barham CMF NSW

PETER CAMPBELL APRIL 7 171 Fletcher Road, Stony Creek Qld 20 Porter’s Hotel, Plainlands Qld

APRIL 13 Woodchop Bar, Sydney Olympic Park NSW 15 Fairfield Showground, Prairiewood NSW MAY 5 Ogilvie Street, Denman NSW

REBECCA LEE NYE APRIL 1 Riversands Winery, St George Qld MAY 6 Rising Sun Hotel, Rosewood Qld

RODNEY VINCENT APRIL 12 Mulwala Water Ski Club NSW 19 Commercial Club, Albury NSW 21 Cootamundra Ex SC NSW 22 Goulburn Railway BC NSW 27 St Georges Basin Country Club, Sanctuary Point NSW 28 Orange City BC NSW 29 Parkes Ex SC NSW MAY 18 Commercial Club, Wagga Wagga NSW

ROSS MCGREGOR APRIL 29 Pittwater RSL Club, Mona Vale NSW MAY 4 Diggers Club, The Entrance NSW 5 Swansea Workers Club NSW

TROY CASSAR-DALEY APRIL 26 Resort Town Square Lawn,

SHELLEY MINSON APRIL 7 West Tamworth League Club NSW MAY 12 West Tamworth League Club NSW 25 Blazes, West Tamworth League Club NSW 27 Oasis Hotel, Tamworth NSW

Ayers Rock NT MAY 25 Norfolk Island

WAYNE HORSBURGH APRIL 8 Wests New Lampton NSW 18 Smithfield RSL Club NSW 21 Cootamundra SC NSW 22 Goulburn Railway BC NSW 27 St. Georges Basin Country

TAYLOR PFEIFFER APRIL 14 Kapunda Farm Fair SA 28 Lameroo CMF SA 29 North Kapunda Hotel SA MAY 6 Kodamonchi Japanese Festival, Thebarton SA

Club NSW 28 Orange BC NSW 29 Parkes SC NSW MAY 5 Bellbird Workers Club NSW 9 Belmont 16 ft Sailing Club NSW 17 Wallarah Bay Club NSW 22 Warrnambool City Memorial

TRACY COSTER APRIL 7 Cathcart Hall NSW 11 Wolumla Memorial Hall NSW 14 Nimmitabel Country Club NSW

BC Vic 25 Wangaratta Park Lane BC Vic 26 Moyhu Hall Vic 27 Wagga Wagga Commercial Club NSW 28 Young BC NSW

37th REDLANDS MODERN COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2017 All weekend 4, 5 & 6th May 2018

Amateur talent quest, sections from juvenile to golden oldies. For entry form and more information see www.redlandscountry.asn.au

ON SITE CAMPING A FO INFO CONTACT DAWN 07 3206 4305 O 0438 050 249 O dawns1@bigpond.com.au years of bringing you the music 1975–2018

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years of bringing you the music 1975–2018